


Inner Darkness

by Dr_Ninja_Monkey, Midnightfluff



Category: League of Legends
Genre: Adventure, F/F, Romance, Sexual Content
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-07-19
Updated: 2017-07-19
Packaged: 2018-12-04 00:07:12
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 28
Words: 96,517
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11543292
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dr_Ninja_Monkey/pseuds/Dr_Ninja_Monkey, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Midnightfluff/pseuds/Midnightfluff
Summary: Irelia is the pinnacle of Ionian balance, but what will she do when she falls for someone who is the exact opposite of everything she has learned? What will she do when she figures out that Syndra's best friend is public enemy number one? Further yet when she has to help him? Syndra X Irelia, rated M for future lemons, and some violence





	1. Confrontation

**Hello and welcome to my series!  This was originally posted over on Fanfiction, but due to the content in later chapters I needed another place to put the story.  The writing does get better, but at the moment I would rather focus on moving forward with the story rather than rewriting older chapters.  I will get around to updating the beginning at a later date.  Enjoy!**

* * *

 

Syndra stood in the middle of the temple’s training room, two dark spheres on the ground next to her.  The room was well lit with torches lining the stone walls, and in front of her was two magical dummies that she was using to practice her magic.  Aside from the torches, Syndra, and the magical dummies the room was empty.  

Syndra willed another dark sphere into existence, but as she watched the sphere form one of the two she had summoned earlier faded in its place.  With that failing, she decided to try again, but with the same result.  Syndra decided to take a different approach this time, instead she tried to summon two spheres at once. At first she thought she had succeeded in maintaining three dark spheres but when she tried to find either of the two original spheres they were gone.

Syndra was starting to get fed up with her seeming lack of progress. She had been at it for three hours now pushing herself nearly to her limit trying to improve.  No matter how hard she tried it seemed like her training wasn’t making her magic any stronger, nor did it feel like her pool of magical energy was getting any larger like it had during her youth.  Syndra had learned a lot since she came to the temple several years ago; but while her body had grown it felt like her magic had barely changed at all.  This is what frustrated Syndra the most. She was putting in hours of effort every day but there didn’t seem to be any signs she was improving.

Syndra sat down next to the wall, slightly dizzy from using too much of her magic at once.  She pulled her knees to her chest and wrapped her arms around her legs curling into a ball as she stared off into the space.  She was starting to wonder if it was worth leaving her family behind and coming to the temple.  When she was a child the offer of being taught magic by an elder had seemed unreal to her, but something about it now just felt wrong…

Syndra shook her head clearing her thoughts,  _ I can’t change the past now so I shouldn’t worry about it _ .  She decided that she would go ask her mentor, who she called the old man regardless of his protests, about why she felt her magic ceased to grow hoping he would have some insight.

Syndra decided to check the library first, she had a hunch that the old man would be there.  He tended to spend most of his time there when he wasn’t teaching Syndra, or practicing his own magic.  The library was fairly impressive considering that only Syndra and the old man lived in the temple.  It was two stories tall and had bookshelves lining the outside of both floors with staircases in the back of both corners connecting the first floor to the second.  

The middle right side of the first floor was an open area with two large book covered tables pushed together that were each a little larger than Syndra if she had laid down on them.  On the other side was a set large comfy chairs. If you cleared out the massive piles of books that was around the chair then you would find a coffee table underneath it somewhere.  It didn’t take long for Syndra to find the old man reading in one of the chairs.

As Syndra approached the old man he peered up at her and in a kind voice said, “Good evening Syndra, what can I help you with?”  The old man wore simple white Ionian robes, his medium length grey hair was tied back into a ponytail.

Syndra plopped herself down in a chair across from the old man and rest her chin on the palm of her hand.

“Why do I feel like I am not getting any stronger?  I have learned a lot since I got here, but my magic feels no different than when I arrived.”

The old man man’s face turned from one of sincere curiosity into one of concern. Slowly his features morphed into a look of contemplation, a few seconds later he finally responded.

“You are probably old enough to hear this now,” the old man paused for a few seconds before continuing, “When we decided to bring you here the elders suspected that your powers were too dangerous to leave alone, that is why I put spell on you to dampen your magic.”

After hearing this Syndra straightened in the chair, a look of shock crossed her face, “You did what! When did you plan on lifting the spell, or better yet even let me know you placed such a spell on me in the first place!”

“Syndra don’t be irrational. In order to be in control of your magic you must learn balance and restraint.  If we had left you at your home with your family you may never have learned this on your own. Eventually you would have become a threat to the safety of Ionia. That is why we took you away from your village, so we could teach and guide you.” 

Syndra’s heart sunk, a mixture of anger, sadness, and betrayal churned in her stomach as she heard this. She had grown to trust the old man over these last few years.  “I was only a child when you took me away, you didn’t even give me a chance to prove myself!  What gave you the right to decide that taking me away from my family was the only choice?”   Syndra flew up from her seat, knocking her chair back.She swung her hand across her body sending a pile of books flying across the room with her magic.

“I’m sorry Syndra. This wasn’t a risk the Elders and I were willing to take. I was going to teach you for a few years and see how you progressed.  Syndra I am sorry, but I did this for your ---“

“No!” Syndra cut him off having heard enough, “You had no right to seal my magic away from me.  I demand you lift this accursed spell from me this instant.” Her rage caused her magic to lash out, accidentally sending out a pulse of magic and several more objects went flying.

The old man got up, his facial expression had a tinge of fear mixed in now, “If you don’t calm down I am going to have to seal your powers away for good.  Please Syndra, I don’t want to do this but I will if I must.”

“You wouldn’t dare” Syndra said defensively but still not backing down, she couldn’t give in now after learning what he had done to her.  Syndra’s magic has been her main source of happiness over the last few years, and she couldn’t let anyone take that happiness away. It didn’t feel right to her.  If that magic was taken away then all of the training and sacrifices she had made up to this point would have been for nothing.  She lost her village and home because of her magic, and Syndra was not about to let that go to waste, she loved her magic too much for that. 

“I will not calm down, not after learning this!  My power is mine and mine alone, I have given up too much between time and my family to let it go that easily!” 

The old man let out long disappointed sigh, “Syndra you leave me no choice.” His voice tinged with sadness.  Then the old man channeled a short spell and fired it at Syndra hitting her square in the center of her chest.

As Syndra was hit by the spell she let out a bone chilling scream. She fell to the floor on her hands and knees in agony.  Never before in her life had she felt more pain than she had now as all her remaining magic was being forcefully pulled from her body.  In a last ditch effort to save her magic Syndra summoned a small dark sphere and with all her might she used her remaining magic to send another pulse at the old man.  After that she collapsed on the ground. Had she been looking she would have seen that the sphere hit home and sent the old man flying into the library wall, his head jerking backwards from the force of the impact.

Syndra could feel her magic slowly returning now that the spell wasn’t draining her magic anymore.  As time passed Syndra worked up enough energy to move again, she looked up at where her master lay limply up against the wall.  Syndra’s eye’s widened in horror as the realization of what she had done.

_ I…killed him…after all he’s done for me over the years.   _ Syndra thought as she curled up into a ball as her eyes became wet with tears.

**No, he was weak and trying to hold you back.  He never cared for you, all he wanted to do was take away your gift, which is why he tried to seal your powers.**  Syndra argued with herself internally, conflicted about how to feel about the situation.

_ That’s a lie, all he ever wanted to do was help me, and I repaid him by killing him.   _ Syndra shifted uncomfortably on the floor.  Unsure about how to feel about everything that had transpired and whether or not she reacted properly.

**If that was true then why did he dampen your power all those years ago, why did try and hide it from you!  On top of that if he cared so much for you,** the voice in her said the last part mockingly,  **then why did he attack you and try to seal away your powers forever?**

Her inners voice words stung, but Syndra didn’t have an answer to attempt to justify her mentor’s actions, making the words even more powerful.  Admitting defeat to herself, she decided to get up off the cold floor and brush the dust off her body.  The sadness was still there but it was easier to ignore now as a feeling of ecstasy filled her body as the excess magical power that had been sealed away all these years once again fully flowed through her veins.

Looking over at the corpse of her former master, Syndra brought her hand up to her mouth as she almost gagged.

_ I suppose I should at least bury him _ .  Syndra used her magic to pick up his body and carry him outside a decent ways into the forest before she found someplace she thought befitting of a burial.  It wasn’t much but the area was open around where the grave would be. The scenery, flowers, and trees nearby had a calming effect.  Syndra used her magic to blow open a section of the ground to create the grave, and gently set her former mentor down into the earth with tears in her eyes.  It wasn’t anything special but at least it was a grave, she at least owed the old man that for raising her over the past few years even if she still wasn’t sure how to feel about everything that had just happened.

After this Syndra returned to her temple, deciding that she wanted to redecorate to distract herself from the reality that she created.


	2. The Jade Dragon

**Next Chapter: The Jade Dragon**

**Three years later. . .**

Irelia walked through the Serene Garden in the Placidium toward the Jade Dragon, a tea shop that Karma wanted Irelia to meet her at.  She wore her captain’s uniform as usual, the red and white armor shining brightly under the glow of the sun.  Her mantle of decorum, Ionia’s highest honor, was floating behind her midnight blue hair that was blowing in the wind.

The Serene Garden was home to most of Ionia’s events, and if you didn’t know your way around it would be easy to get lost among the trees, the variety of flowers, shrines, and various alcoves that provided a decent amount of privacy.  Like most of the Placidium it was expertly maintained, and most Ionians knew their way around the gardens from festivals so it wasn’t often people got lost.  The gentle breeze, beautiful scenery, and sweet aroma from the flowers relaxed Irelia, melting away all the stress from her day.  Irelia made a mental note to herself to come back later and find a good place to meditate in private.  Fall was quickly approaching and in a few weeks it would be too cold to meditate outside.

After a few minutes of walking Irelia arrived at the tea shop. While it wasn’t particularly big it was still larger than your average tea shop due to its private rooms in the back.  The private rooms, along with their tea, were what made the shop a popular meeting place for officials.  As Irelia walked inside she was greeted by a waitress dressed in a simple black and white Ionian dress.  The dress went from her knees up to her shoulders where it met her black hair.  As Irelia approached the counter, the woman gave a small bow and greeted her.

“Greetings Captain Lito, we have been expecting you, please follow me.”

Irelia followed the waitress as she led her passed a few rows of dark wooden tables towards a line of rooms in the back.  Their entrances were covered by hanging black curtains that went down to Irelia’s knees.  The waitress held the curtains open for Irelia and left shortly after she entered the room.  As Irelia entered the room she noticed that while the curtains were dark on the outside, providing little vision into the room, on the inside she could easily see out of them into the tea shop from the other side.

Irelia gave Karma a bow as she entered the room, a common Ionian courtesy, before being welcomed by Karma.

“Greetings Irelia, it is nice to see you.  I hope you don’t mind, I ordered tea already.”  Karma’s voice was soothing as she gestured towards the tea kettle in the middle of the table.

Karma wore a purple dress that went up to her neck but skipping over her shoulders with a white shirt overtop of her mid-section that covered her stomach and the sides of her waist while her mantle of decorum gently floated behind her.  Whereas Irelia’s mantle was militaristic, Karma’s was two jade dragons in a circle which was the symbol of Ionia.  Like a lot of southern Ionians Karma’s skin was bronze, opposite of Irelia who was fairly pale.

Irelia waved a hand dismissively as she took a seat, “Not at all, I’m glad you did, I rather like your taste in tea.” Irelia responded, before filling her cup with tea.

“I’m sorry for calling you here so abruptly, but I need your help dealing with some issues in the southern provinces.”

Irelia knew what Karma was talking about without even asking.  A few months ago she helped take back the southern provinces that Noxus had claimed when invading Ionia.  While they were able to drive out the majority of the Noxian army, there was still some groups of soldiers leftover who formed mercenary bands in the mountains and surrounding forests.  They survived through robbing small trading caravans, travelers, and terrorizing local villages.

Karma continued, “Recently I have been in communication with an ex-Noxian who is interested in helping us deal with these mercenaries.”

Irelia’s face was a mixture of skepticism and confusion, before she could respond Karma reached into her robe, pulled out a letter, and slid it over to Irelia.  She stared at it for a few moments before opening it up. The handwriting was barely legible, and Irelia ended up reading over it multiple times to make sure that she read it correctly.

The letter was from an ex-member of the Noxian military interested in staying in Ionia as a way of hiding from Noxus and their assassins.  Irelia didn’t know too much about Noxus, but she did know that they didn’t take kindly to deserters, so it made sense they would want a safe haven from Noxus.  In exchange for their protection, they were willing to give Ionia information about the mercenaries and help wipe them out.  While Irelia realized that they didn’t have much choice, considering they were having issues wiping the mercenaries out, she still didn’t like it.

“How do we know we can trust this Noxian, that they aren’t leading us into an ambush or that we aren’t being used to further their own goals?”  Irelia commented with skepticism.

Karma let out a sigh and responded, “We don’t, frankly I don’t like it much more than you do. However our people are suffering out there, and if there is even a shred of hope that this will work we owe it to them to at least try.”

Irelia crossed her arms thinking, _Karma has a point, I don’t like it but we can’t stand idly by as our people suffer.  We would need a small party to avoid drawing suspicion, especially since we would be heading by The Dark Sovereign’s fortress.  She has been keeping to herself, but that may change if she sees another army and think we are attacking her again.  After the last time the military attacked her four months ago, she ripped the temple out of the ground and turned it into a floating fortress._  After a bit of pondering Irelia sighed and finally responded.

“Alright, how do we get ahold of this Noxian?”

* * *

 

Syndra sat letting her legs dangle off the edge of her floating fortress as she watched the sun disappear over the horizon.  She was wearing her pajamas which consisted of a purple baggy shirt and some comfy black shorts.  Syndra wasn’t sure when, but at some point watching the sunset from her garden had become a habit for her.  Syndra wasn’t the type of person to have a routine, but she found that she enjoyed the view too much to ignore it.  Though tonight she found that she couldn’t enjoy it as much as she usually did, she could feel someone watching her.  She felt the intruder arrive a few minutes ago, but when she turned her head to address them they disappeared into the shadows of her balcony and hadn’t moved since.  Syndra didn’t get many visitors at her fortress so she already had a clue as to who sent them.

“It’s rude to stare you know” Syndra called out still staring out towards the setting sun.

When Syndra was only met with silence her expression morphed into one of annoyance.  Syndra pulled her left leg up to where she was sitting and placed her chin into the palm of her hand.   _Just as stubborn as your master_ , she thought to herself.

“I know you’re hiding back there.  My magic is embedded into this fortress, no one touches it without me knowing.”  Annoyance seeping into Syndra’s voice.

Syndra sighed, _I guess we have to do this the hard way_. Without looking, Syndra reached her arm behind her in a wide arc and used her magic to grab ahold of the figure hiding in the shadows and brought him dangling over the ledge in front of her.  Syndra wasn’t surprised when she found that it was one of Zed’s shadow ninjas dangling in front of her.

“If Zed wants to tell me something, why doesn’t he just come and tell me in person?”  Syndra asked the dangling shadow ninja. Said ninja didn’t respond but merely reached into his uniform with a shaky hand and pulled out a piece of paper that they then handed to Syndra.

Syndra rolled her eyes as she accepted the note, “What does a girl have to do to get a decent conversation around here, you ninjas never say anything when you visit.”  Deciding that she wasn’t going to get any information out of the ninja she lowered him down towards the ground and dropped him into the lake below her fortress.

_“Now don’t you think that was a bit harsh?”_ A sarcastic and deep voice said from behind Syndra.

This time Syndra adjusted herself and looked up into a tree behind her to see Zed’s shadow sitting in a branch staring back at her.  Syndra didn’t like Zed’s shadow; it didn’t have a physical form so she couldn’t feel its presence, and whenever she talked to the shadow it usually didn’t have anything pleasant to say.

“Well maybe if your other half would come to see me in person, or he would send someone who I could have a decent conversation with, they would return home dry.  Instead I get these mimes who think they can hide from me in my home, and instead of telling me what they want like a normal person they just hide in trees and balconies all night.”  Syndra ranted.

The only response Syndra got was a chuckle from Zed’s shadow before it disappeared.  Syndra could never be sure if Zed’s shadow acted independently or of Zed’s own will.  Whenever she tried to press Zed about it he always told her it was under his control, but the more Syndra got to know Zed and his shadow, the more she found it harder to believe.

Syndra sighed as she laid back and stared up at the night sky, alone again completely forgetting about the note from Zed.  Syndra didn’t mind being alone, but sometimes even she wanted some companionship; or at least a decent conversation every once in a while. 

After deciding that she wanted to visit a city soon, Syndra got excited upon remembering that the Harrowing was coming up.  While Syndra didn’t like the elders of Ionia, she didn’t mind the cities or people as a whole.  It wasn’t unusual for her to sneak into them every once in a while, especially during festivals.  While the people of Ionia feared her, Syndra quickly realized that most people didn’t know actually know what “The Dark Sovereign” really looked like, especially without her headdress.

Syndra decided that she was going to retire, happy that she had something to look forward to.


	3. A Good Night's Rest

Irelia sat at a table with Iroh, Sumona, and Arvile planning out their next day’s journey. They had spent most of the day traveling by boat from the Placidium down to Qi Jon, a port in the province of Navori. They were staying at one of the port cities inns, Sumona and Arvile had just gotten back from getting supplies and securing them some horses for their next leg of their journey.

  
“Assuming that we leave at sunrise, we should be able to make it to the border town by sundown.” Iroh said in a calm quiet tone. His hair was almost completely grey at this stage in his life, but he still had a muscular build despite his age and Irelia knew from personal experience that he was still a capable warrior.

  
“First thing in the morning! You have to be kidding me,” Arvile complained. Arvile was a nobleman’s son and because of this his military experience was a lot more luxurious compared to the rest of the group. He was from Demacia so his hair was brown compared to black and his jaw was square instead of round like most Ionians. Irelia found that she could find no common ground with him due to his demeanor and lack of experience.

  
“What’s the matter rich boy, not used to having to dress yourself in the morning?” Sumona teased as she playfully waved her knife in Arviles direction. She was a rouge that fled from Bilgewater to join the Ionian military, never actually expecting she would have to fight.

  
“Don’t wave a knife in a man’s face unless you plan to use it,” Iroh scolded Sumona to which she responded by childishly rocking back into her chair and unsuccessfully blowing her black bangs out of her face.

  
Iroh turned to Irelia and continued, “Anyway as I was saying, at sundown tomorrow we will meet up with Karma’s ex-Noxian at the Nabubu Inn.” As he was about to continue he was once again interrupted.

  
“So Irelia, you know in this light your mantle of decorum looks like a halo, want to be my celestial maiden?” Arvile said as he clicked his tongue jauntily with what he believed to be sophistication and confidence.

  
Irelia slowly looked up at Arvile in seeming consideration, suddenly she turned to Sumona and handed her a key. “We are in the last room on the right, I am retiring for the night and I will be locking the door behind me.” Irelia got up from her chair and walked towards the room waving her hand at Iroh wishing him a pleasant evening. In response Iroh raised his mug in a salute to her words and also wished her a good night.

  
“Wait what just happened, what about me?!?” Arvile said with a puzzled look on his face.

  
“You’re going to have to teach me some of your tricks lad, you had her in the palm of your hands” Iroh laughed mockingly as he gave Arvile a pitying slap on the back.  
Confidence renewed Arvile got up and headed towards the rooms before returning a minute later realizing that he didn’t have a key nor a clue as to what room he was staying in.

* * *

 

(Dream-scape)  
_Irelia looked around at a snow covered Placidium full holiday lights and decorations. It was snow down which meant that almost everyone in Ionia would be coming to the Placidium for the festivities. As Irelia was taking in the scenery a woman bundled up in purple and white snow gear with hair white as the snow approached her. She came up to Irelia and gave her a long hug, nuzzling her head into Irelia’s shoulder for the hugs duration. She was a few inches shorter than Irelia but this only made it easier for her to find the perfect spot to rest her head._

  
_“Are you ready to go Irelia?” the woman said, as she cocked her head up and peered up at Irelia._

  
_Without any will of her own, Irelia nodded and the two women released each other from their embrace. It was like Irelia was a spectator in her body as it moved without her consent. At first Irelia was resistant of only being able to watch herself from afar, but as time went on she became captivated by the mysterious woman and found that she was actually enjoying herself even if she could only watch._

  
_The first stop was the Serene gardens, all of the dormant trees were decorated with holiday lights and the grounds were littered with snowmen of varying shapes and sizes. As the two walked through the gardens holding hands, Irelia was pointing out the various snowmen which were all in the shapes of Santa Gragas and his helpers. Upon reaching the end of the snowmen Irelia and the woman entered one of the Placidium’s many family diners. During the meal they were laughing, occasionally feeding each other food, and genuinely enjoying themselves. Irelia reflected that the thing that she appreciated the most about the scene was that she wasn’t acting like the captain of the guard. Instead she was able to act as herself, which was something she couldn’t remember the last time she was able to do._

  
_After they had finished eating they went to the Placidium’s theater where they got to see one of Ionia’s many snow down themed plays. They had a private booth that gave them a clear view of the entire play. The whole time the white haired woman’s head laid on Irelia’s shoulder. The spot must have been fairly comfy because Irelia noticed that she had fallen asleep before the play was even half way over. She stayed asleep even as Irelia carried her back to Irelia’s house. Just before they reached Irelia’s street the woman woke up and realized where she was. Her face flushed with embarrassment. Against Irelia’s gentle protest the woman begged to be put down and they walked the rest of the way home side by side, the woman’s face still filled with a tinge of embarrassment._

  
_As they neared the entrance to the home the white haired woman’s face turned from embarrassment into a playful grin. As Irelia walked up to unlock the door, she didn’t even notice as the white haired woman stayed behind and formed snowballs almost magically. As Irelia fiddled with the door the woman chucked the snowballs at her. Irelia stiffened as they caught her by surprise and one of them made its way down her neck. The woman giggled as Irelia danced around as the snow that hit her slowly made its way into the back of her shirt. Irelia ran over to the woman and playfully tackled her into the snow, this time it was Irelia’s turn to giggle as she took some snow and stuffed it down the white haired woman’s shirt in return. After her initial reaction the white haired woman pouted in defeat, Irelia gave her a kiss on the forehead and helped her up before they entered the warm house together._

  
_A few minutes and a few less articles of clothing later Irelia and the white haired woman were cuddling on a warm rug under a fuzzy blanket in front of her fireplace. They were both in their pajamas now, the white haired woman was wearing nothing but a purple tinted night gown that clung to her upper body but laid loosely on the lower half where it ended a few inches below her waist. The gown barely covered her private areas, not that it mattered since the gown was pretty much see-through. In contrast Irelia wore warm pajama pants and a red t-shirt, but she still appreciated the sight the woman gave her. As the fire died the women turned to each other and brought their hands up to each other’s faces. Steadying themselves they leaned forward and brought their lips together in a slow, sensual kiss. Parting after a few moments the woman looked up at Irelia and said “. . .”_

  
_Confused Irelia asked “what?”_

  
_Again the woman looked at Irelia and said “. . .”_

  
_Slightly angry now Irelia again asks “What were those three words?”_

  
_The woman smugly looked at her and says “Dream’s over Irelia”_

* * *

 

Irelia awoke to Sumona shaking her shoulder, “Come on wake up.”

  
Irelia slowly got up shaking her head. She tried to recall her dream but the more she attempted to remember it the foggier the memory became. Eventually the woman’s face was nothing more than a blur to Irelia.

  
“Geez, I have been trying to wake you up for five minutes now.” Sumona continued.

  
Irelia looked at Sumona, finally realizing she was standing very close to her, “Oh, sorry. I was just having a weird dream.”

  
Sumona merely raised an eyebrow in response, her face otherwise blank of emotion.

  
“Just go on ahead, I’ll catch up.” Irelia said as she waved her hand dismissively. Irelia sighed internally, what was I expecting a rogue to say…?

  
After Sumona had left Irelia laid back onto her bed putting her hands over her face trying to recall her dream. Irelia’s head was buzzing full of questions from everything that had happened in the dream.

  
_Who was that woman? What were we doing, were we on a date? Why was I on a date with a woman?_

  
The whole thing confused Irelia. It provoked feelings Irelia wasn’t familiar with, for a person that she had never met before.  
The more Irelia thought about it the more she feel a sense of loneliness creep into her heart, it was a feeling that she hadn’t felt in years. Before Irelia managed to repress the feeling she wondered whether or not her dream could ever become reality.


	4. Rendezvous with a Noxian

As Irelia left the inn, she was surprised to find out that the sun had barely risen over the horizon.  The streets were slowly filling up with people going about their day, but the only one of her companions in sight was Iroh.  Irelia approached Iroh, who was leaning against a wall across the street, a bit confused at the whereabouts of her other companions.

“Where is Arvile and Sumona?  Sumona left before me, and I didn’t see them in the inn while I was eating.”

“They were getting a bit impatient waiting around,” Iroh said as he started to walk, “so I sent them ahead to prepare the horses they got for us near the edge of town last night.  We should arrive a little bit after dark tonight.”

“I thought you said we would arrive before sundown tonight?” she questioned.

“Aye, lass, we were supposed to.  Unfortunately, I heard from some locals that the bridge for the Kai-shi River is out, so we will have to make a detour around it.”

Irelia pondered for a second trying to remember the river Iroh was talking about.  She was fairly familiar with Ionian geography and most of its major mountains and rivers, it didn’t take long to remember which river Iroh was talking about.  This made Irelia frown, the area around the river was fairly deserted due to its close proximity to the mountains.  The detour would take them one to two hours to complete.  
It was enough to slow them down, but not enough to make them delay their arrival to the next day.  The fact that it was only a minor inconvenience to a traveler was what worried Irelia the most.

Iroh must have been able to sense that Irelia was worried, because he put a reassuring hand on her shoulder as they arrived at the stables.  “I’m sure things will be fine lass,” he said with a smile on his face.

“Yeah, you’re probably right,” she said with a halfhearted smile, trying to convince herself more than Iroh that they were true.

 

* * *

 

It had been several hours since Irelia and her companions had left, though they tried not to show it, they were all exhausted by this time.  The remaining path was fairly straight forward considering they had just gotten past the Kai-shi River, which should have been the hardest part of their journey.  Surprisingly, they had managed to cross the river without any issues, except for when a fish scared Arvile’s horse and it nearly bucked him off into the river.  The area past the river was mostly surrounded by trees and the occasional boulder on the side of the road.  From their current location they could see a faint outline of the village that was highlighted by its shining lights against the almost night time sky.

Earlier that day Irelia had taken her blades out of her traveling pack.  She had kept them there due to the fact that that most people found it disturbing how her bladed floated and seemed to react without orders from her. She felt most comfortable with them out, rather than hiding away in a bag like the last few days.  Right now they were floating flatly on Irelia’s back. Oddly enough, having them there made Irelia feel more comfortable.  On a journey as long as the one they were making today, Irelia was grateful for the small comfort her blades had provided.  Whenever Irelia wasn’t able to distract herself on their journey, the dream from the prior night would creep back into her mind.  Irelia had had dreams before, but none of them bothered her as much the one from the previous night.  The white haired woman’s face was still a blur, and the confusion it brought her did little to help sort out her thoughts.

As they got closer to the village, Sumona pulled her horse off to the side.

“Is everything alright Sumona?” Irelia asked

“I’ve been thinking,” Sumona said as she tied her horse to a tree, “we have no clue if we can trust this Noxian.  We could be riding straight into an ambush and not even know it.  How do we even know that she showed up?”

The group remained silent as Sumona’s words sunk in.  They had all probably entertained the idea in their minds at one point or another, but Sumona was the first one to actually address it.

“You don’t think the Noxian’s would use ambush tactics do you?  I mean even if they are mercenaries, aren’t Noxians too head strong and honor bound to use such tactics?”  Arvile questioned.

Iroh was the first to respond to Arvile, “Normally lad, you would have a point.  They most likely wouldn’t in a time of war, but these mercenaries have been here a while and are likely to do whatever they can to survive.”

“There are probably some Zaunite mercenaries mixed in with them as well, it would be foolish to think that they are exclusively Noxian.”  Irelia added, unintentionally letting her distaste for Zaunites slip into her voice.  Irelia hadn’t cared much for Noxians, but at least they had fought face to face in battle.  While Irelia had never experienced the horror of the Zaunite melters herself, she had seen the destruction they had caused to her people and the area’s they had bombed.  Just thinking about them made Irelia’s stomach churn with distaste.  Irelia took a deep breath, _calm down_ , she thought to herself trying to push away her hatred for those that invaded her country.

Irelia snapped back to reality when Iroh had spoken up, “Sumona, do you think you could go and scout ahead to make sure that our Noxian friend has actually shown up?”

Sumona replied with a slightly concerned voice, “Of course, will you guys be alright staying here and setting up camp in the dark?”

“Aye lass, go on ahead. We’ll wait here for ya here.”

 

* * *

 

The Noxian warrior sat in a tree, looking out at the village entrance, expecting the warriors that Karma had sent to be here by now.  She wore a long dark brown cloak that covered most of her body, hiding the tattered remnants of her military armor.  Due to the repairs she had made to her armor it was probably equally as Ionian as it was Noxian at this point.  She had taken off her hood as soon as it had started to get dark out, revealing her short white hair and crimson eyes.

_Where are they…?_ _They should have been here two hours ago._   She thought to herself.

She didn’t like waiting, the fact that Ionians were rarely ever late was something she respected about this country.  Ionians being late was never a good thing, especially in a part of the country that was being terrorized by mercenaries.  While the warrior didn’t care much for the countries mercenary issue, she did have a score to settle with some of the leftover Zaunites.

The Noxian warrior’s thoughts were interrupted when she saw a campfire shoot up in the distance.

_A campfire? Fuck, there is a mercenary camp right by there!_

She wasted no time jumping down from the tree and rushing out of town towards source of the light, fearing for the worst.

_Come on, please be alive!  I need your help and you guys can’t do that if you’re dead._

As she drew closer, her unease grew as the noise of clashing metal filled the air.

 

* * *

 

A bead of sweat ran down the side of Irelia’s forehead as she fended off a mercenary’s attack.  It was only a few minutes after they had started the fire when they were attacked.  Last time she had seen them, Iroh was on the opposite side of the fire near a boulder, and Arvile was across from Iroh near the road.  Unfortunately, because of the men standing before her, she couldn’t glance over to see how well her allies were faring.  From the difficult time Irelia was having with them, she figured that they probably were having just as tough a time as she was.  Irelia was able to block and dodge the mercenaries’ attacks repeatedly.  They weren’t particularly skilled swordsmen, but they did have the element of surprise and they weren’t fatigued from a long days travel.

_Just wait for an opening,_ Irelia thought to herself, trying to herself from being rash.

It didn’t take long for Irelia’s patience to be rewarded, one of the mercenaries had charged forward at her screaming while trying to stab her in the stomach.  Irelia nimbly stepped out of the way, using her blades to parry the blow and using her momentum to spin with the block and bring her sword around across her attackers exposed mid-section.  Irelia backed off quickly out of habit to avoid a retaliation strike, narrowly avoiding another one of the mercenaries’ attack.

Keeping her calm and after avoiding a few more attacks, another opportunity arose when a mercenary swung his sword in a large arcing motion towards Irelia.  She stopped him with a swift kick to the groin, bringing her blade up into his chest as he doubled over.  As she did this, the other mercenaries backed off a bit, mumbling amongst themselves.

Irelia was left confused since there was still a few of them left, _surely they aren’t retreating already?_ Irelia thought to herself. She had seen soldiers retreat from a losing battle before, but never this quickly.

Sunddenly a tall, bald, and burly mercenary stepped forward, grunting angrily.  “That was my brother you Ionian wench, you are going to regret that!” he bellowed.

Irelia cursed to herself as he wielded the broadsword that had been strapped to his back.

The man swung his sword wide in a slashing motion towards her mid-section, and Irelia was forced to jump back to dodge the attacks.  His movements were slow, but the size of the sword made it difficult for Irelia to get close to him.  She couldn’t block without risking that the sheer power of his attacks would knock her over.  He continued his onslaught for three more strikes, before bringing the sword in an overhand strike downwards.  Irelia narrowly managed to jump to the side. She used her foot to turn the blade so her foot was on the dull side preventing the sword from being raised upwards.  Irelia used this opportunity to try and stab the man, but was stopped when the man grabbed her by the neck and hoisted her into the air.  Irelia clawed at his hand as he choked her while lifting her up.  The only saving grace she had was that his weapon was too heavy to lift with one hand so he couldn’t stab her, and apparently none of the other men were willing to attack her while he was fighting.

_This is going to hurt_ , Irelia thought to herself as an idea crossed her mind.  She grabbed ahold of the man’s wrist, and used it for leverage as she pulled her feet to her chest and kicked the man in the face.  The man dropped Irelia, she used the dull side of her blades to tip her over midair so she didn’t fall on her back, but she still fell roughly on her forearms and knees.  Irelia coughed repeatedly as air refilled her lungs, looking up up she saw the man walk over to his sword while holding his nose.

Irelia heard the man cussing at her, as he hefted his sword.  She used her knee to help stabilize herself and stand up, bringing her blade up in front of her.  As the man walked towards her, Irelia prepared herself for the worst.  Normally she wouldn’t have had a problem dealing with the man, but with the exhaustion setting in from a long day’s journey it made things more difficult.  As the man prepared to lift the sword up, there was shouts from the other mercenaries.  As the man turned, Irelia saw a figure in brown stab the man in the side with a large broken sword.

Irelia was momentarily confused by what had happened, but quickly snapped back into reality.  Irelia ran up and quickly dispatched three mercenaries that were close by while they stood there stunned.  With all of the mercenaries around Irelia gone, she looked around for Iroh and Arvile.  As she looked over towards Iroh, she saw him defending himself against four attackers and when she glanced over towards Arvile he was dealing with the same amount.  Irelia looked back and forth between the two, unsure what to do. 

Irelia cursed to herself internally,  _I'm sorry,_  she thought as she rushed towards the battle closest to her.


	5. Harrowing Preparation

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: I imagine Zed and Syndra to have a platonic relationship, so that is why Zed is being mean yet helpful. Also, going was NOT his idea.

Syndra glared into her closet thinking,  _ I have nothing to wear for the Harrowing! _  She begins to pull out various outfits telling herself,  _ No. No. No. No. _  With each no she adds another outfit to the growing reject pile behind her, slowly consuming what was once her bed.  As she pulled out an elegant dress that looked promising she remembered the last time she wore it.   _ I killed someone last time I wore this, didn’t I? _  Upon further inspection she noticed a blood stain on the hemline,  _ mental note: take this to the cleaners.   _ Digging deeper into her closet she pulls out her pajamas.  She begins to fling them into the pile when she notices a note fall out of her pants pocket.

_ What is this? _  Syndra unfolds the paper reading:

_ Syndra, _

_ Please stop flinging my ninjas.  I’m running out of ninjas that are willing to deliver messages to you.  They are starting to get phobias of flying like squirrels.  About the Harrowing, do I have to make my own costume or are we going as a pair?  You better not wear another skimpy outfit, because I refuse to look at your pasty skin more than I have to.  Also, we need masks.  There’s no way that I am walking anywhere without a mask on, and neither should you. _

_ Let me know ASAP, otherwise I’m not going. _

_ Zed _

Syndra angrily balled up the paper, throwing it into the trashcan.

_ Who does he think he is telling me what to do and what to wear!  What does he mean pasty! _

As she continues ranting, realization hit Syndra

_ Wait, when did I get this note? _  Syndra thought as she mentally counted the days gone by.

_ 1…2….3…4…5… days! _

“Crap!  I have to find Zed!”  Syndra yelled as she started to rummage through her clothes for something to wear.  Giving up on the closet, she ran over to her dresser and began to ransack it in an attempt to find an outfit.

 

* * *

 

 

Zed sat on his throne, listening to a report that one of his subordinates was giving him.  While the ninja was giving the report, Zed thought about Syndra and her plans for the Harrowing.

_ It’s been five days since she was given my note.  I think that’s enough time for her to theoretically read it and for her to travel here.  I guess I’ll have to track her down myself. _

Part of the reason why Zed always tried to have his ninjas sneak the note into Syndra’s fortress is because he thought that there would be a higher chance of her reading it if she actually found it herself, rather than the usual where the ninjas would give it to her, and then they’d get air mailed back.

“…After following the target for three days, there is no evidence that he would lead us to any members of the Kinkou Order.”

“Capture and interrogate him!  Get any information out of him that we can!”  Zed ordered.

The ninja answered with a swift “Yes, sir!” before giving a bow and shadow walking away.

**_“Now, now.  Shouldn’t you be paying attention to your subordinates, rather than concerning yourself with HER?”_ **

Zed turned to his shadow and replied, “Unlike YOU, I actually have a brain so I can multi-task.”

The shadow laughed,  **_“Regardless, is it really worth your time to cater to that child’s whim?”_ **

“That child’s power is equivalent to a God, so keeping her as ally is in my best interest.  Besides it’s an opportunity to scout the enemy, I might even be able to get a lead as to the whereabouts of the remaining members of the Kinkou Order.”

**_“Keep telling yourself that.  Have fun playing dress up!”_ ** Zed’s shadow retorted cheerfully, before giving a sarcastic wave and disappearing.

Zed sighed,  _ I hate that guy… _

**_“I heard that!”_ **

Zed gave an audible sigh before opening a shadow portal to take him to Syndra’s fortress.

Zed stepped out of his portal into Syndra’s garden.  After searching the gardens and not finding her, he began to search the actual fortress.  As he made his way deeper into the fortress he began to hear banging noises and grunts of frustration, he found himself in front of Syndra’s bedroom door.

After hearing a particularly loud bang, Zed barged into the room.

“What are you do…MY EYES!” Zed screamed as dropped to the floor.

 

* * *

 

 

Syndra turned from her armoire to look at Zed, who was dramatically rolling while holding his face.

“I’m wearing underwear you know!”

“WHY DON’T YOU HAVE ANY CLOTHES ON!?”

“I’m working on it!”

“WORK HARDER!”

Syndra rolled her eyes and grabbed her bathrobe.  Tying it, she walked over to Zed and kicked him.

“You can open your eyes now… wuss _ ” _

“How do I know I can trust you?”

“Really Zed?  You come to my home and barge into my room unannounced, and you are complaining to me about trust!?!?”

“…fair enough,” Zed peeked through his fingers to double check that Syndra wasn’t lying.

Seeing this, Syndra huffed and kicked him again.  “Go and wait in the garden, I’ll be out in like ten minutes.”

**Twenty minutes later**

“What took you so long” Zed questioned

“Yeah, yeah. “  Syndra said as she waved her hand side to side “It took me a while to find an outfit that I wanted, and afterwards I had to put all my clothes back.”  Truthfully Syndra had let most of her clothes lying on the floor, but Zed didn’t need to know that.

“Anyway, what are we doing for the Harrowing this year?”

“What do you want to go as?”  Syndra asked with a bored expression on her face.

Zed shrugged his shoulders, “I don’t care.  I just want to get this over with.”

Syndra tapped her finger against her cheek in thought, various expressions, mostly evil smiles, coming across her face as she imagined the costumes she could try and make Zed wear.

“How about---“

“No!”  Zed exclaimed.

“You didn’t even let me finish!”

“I can already tell by the grin on your face that I am not going to like it!”

“Fine…”  Syndra huffed, “do you have any great ideas?”

“You invited me, it’s your job to come up with the ideas.  I want to be something that strikes fear into people hearts!  Not some silly baker.”

“Yeah, yeah, dark and foreboding.”  After a few moments, a realization hit Syndra, “Wait that’s it!  You can go as a Shinigami!  That way you can still be your dark and faceless self.”

Syndra noticed as Zed’s eyes blinked slowly in astonishment.

“That….is actually a great idea,” Zed patted Syndra on the shoulder, “Who knew you actually had a brain in there!”

Syndra moved away from Zed, “Just come back two days from now to try on your costume.”

Zed walked away and opened a shadow portal.  Before leaving he called to Syndra, “What are you going to go as?”

Syndra grinned, “Don’t worry, you’ll see.”  Before using her magic to push Zed through his own portal.

 

* * *

 

 

**Two days later…**

Zed sat upon his throne, a grin underneath his mask.  He was being debriefed by one of his subordinates about the events of Syndra’s shopping trip.

“What happened after The Dark Sovereign moved her castle towards Fai-Don?”  Zed asked

“The reports state that the authorities tried investigating the fortress, but were repelled by a magic barrier.  They couldn’t find The Dark Sovereign till about an hour later.  She was heard screaming about the ribbons being overpriced, she then blew a hole in the side of the fabric store.”

**_“So, what was that about her being a valuable ally?  Hmm….Zed?”_ **

Zed ignored his shadows gripe, and beckoned his subordinate to continue.

“They lost her in the panic over the rubble, but they caught her terrorizing the blacksmith.  Apparently she was trying to make him increase the size of one of his sets of armor.  The record states that the blacksmith made a comment about The Dark Sovereigns figure compared to the armor.  Upon arrival, the authorities found one set of armor missing, a small amount of gold to cover the armor, and the blacksmith squeezed into a barrel half his size.  After releasing him, the blacksmith warned the officers about never insulting a woman’s weight.  The officers never would of known where she went if it wasn’t for multiple eye witnesses confirming The Dark Sovereign exiting a mask shop and flying back to her fortress.  Apparently, the shop was having a sale on out of season masks.”

Zed dismissed his subordinate, who left after a bow.

**_“She is unstable.  She can’t even buy clothing without blowing up half a town.  What hope do we have of keeping her in check?”_ **

“Why do you think I’m going to this festival with her?  If she ever truly loses control, nowhere in the world is safe from her wrath, the safest place to be is right next to her.”

**_“I’m not sure if you are lying to me, or yourself.  Either way, just remember the plan.”_ ** The shadow finished before disappearing into the darkness.

Zed chuckled to himself,  _ right, your glorious ‘plan’.  Good luck with that _ .

Zed created a portal to Syndra’s fortress, and left the now empty throne room.

Zed reappeared in the gardens, and to his surprise, Syndra was there waiting for him.

“A little birdie told me that you an eventful shopping trip in Fai-Don.”  Zed quipped

“Shut up Zed.”

“How much ribbon did you buy anyway?”

“Shut up Zed.”

“You could have just told the blacksmith it was for a man.”

“SHUT UP ZED”

“Though I am fairly curious as to what masks you ended up getting.”

“Anything else you want to say before I fling you off my fortress?”

Zed stroked his chin in contemplation for a few moments, “Nah, I’m good.  For now.”

“Don’t worry, the offer still stands” Syndra said sarcastically.

“Now, now.  How did the costume making go?”

“Surprisingly well,” Syndra said as she thrust a costume into Zed’s arms.  “Go try it on.  Meet me outside in twenty minutes.”

Zed went into a guest bedroom to try on his costume, as he begins to buckle everything into place he thinks to himself,  _ she actually guessed my size pretty well.  Wait a minute… _

Zed derailed that train of thought for the sake of his sanity and continued to put the costume on.  As he looked at himself in the mirror he saw the full effect of his costume. The oni mask that Syndra chose for him was gruesome. It had a bone white face with red horns. The back of the mask make it appear as if he hair long white hair.

_ Makes me pretty unrecognizable. _

Continuing his observations downwards he realized why he had to put on that horrifically red body suit. The armor of his costume was a dull silver and consisted of a sizable chest plate with two cloak clasps, shoulder guards, faulds, tabi socks, and sandals. Holding up his faulds was a red obi that had a skull medallion attached on the front. The edges of the armor was lined in gold, creating a striking contrast between silver, gold, and red. When put together he looked like a gruesome Shinigami, ready to take souls to the afterlife. 

After Zed was satisfied with his costume, he walked back out to the gardens to meet up with Syndra.  Zed was going to compliment Syndra on her efforts for the costume as he heard her walking out, but when he turned around to see her costume he was met with a terrifying sight.

Syndra’s costume was nearly the exact opposite of Zed’s.  Whereas his covered his entire body, Syndra’s was one wrong bend from falling out of hers.  It looked like she took a kimono and made it into a halter top and mini skirt.  In coloration, wherever he was silver and white, she was a deep red.  Her red mask,  _ which she didn’t even bother putting on her face _ was treated as a hair ornament.  She had a red choker, which drew attention to the lack of clothing in her chest area.  Her  _ kimono  _ if it could even be described as such anymore, was a deep red, almost like blood, which had detached sleeves.   Her obi was white with gold accents, and her girdle was also gold.  In addition, she had golden spiderlike legs attached to her back.  Her hair, normally loose, was pulled up in such a way that it made her appear as if she had short hair.  Her socks were uneven, and she had on ridiculously high heeled boots.

“What…are you wearing?”

“Can’t you tell? I’m a Jorogumo.”  Syndra said happily.

“I thought our goal was to be stealthy at this festival?  How are we going to do that if the entire world is staring at those!?”  Zed exclaimed as he pointed at Syndra’s chest.

Zed continued, “What is even holding your costume together?  It looks like you are about to burst out of it at any moment!”  Zed shuddered at the thought.

“You are just jealous that you don’t get to show off skin like this.”  Syndra said as she gestured up and down her body.

“…No”

“It is not my fault that I have perfect skin, compared to your scarred and battered body.”

“When have you seen my skin!?”

“I haven’t, just a guess.  You mustn’t be a good ninja if you have a lot of scars.”

“Shut up Syndra.”   
“Now, now Zed.  If you dish it out, you have to take it.”  Syndra commented, as she condescendingly patted him on the shoulder.

Syndra continued, “Let’s meet up here on the day of the harrowing, and then you can use your ‘spooky’ shadow portal to go to the festival.”

“Whatever” Zed said as he opened up his shadow portal and left Syndra’s fortress.

Zed grinned as he heard a yell behind him as he left.

“Why do you always get the last word!”

 


	6. Party of Three

_Recap from Chapter 4_

_Irelia was momentarily confused by what had happened, but quickly snapped back into reality.  Irelia ran up and quickly dispatched three mercenaries that were close by while they stood there stunned.  With all of the mercenaries around Irelia gone, she looked around for Iroh and Arvile.  As she looked over towards Iroh, she saw him defending himself against four attackers and when she glanced over towards Arvile he was dealing with the same amount.  Irelia looked back and forth between the two, unsure what to do._

_Irelia cursed to herself internally,_ _I'm sorry,_ _she thought as she rushed towards the battle closest to her._

Irelia charged her way over to the closest battle.  She stabbed the nearest mercenary in the back as she ran up behind them.  She could hear the air escaping his lungs as she put her weight into the attack.  As she heard the noise a chill shot up her spine.  Irelia took her blade out, the body of the soldier collapsing in front of her as she did so.  While this happened she continued with her momentum as she turned and stabbed the mercenary next to her in the stomach as he turned to look at his ally.  While this was happening the mercenary next to Irelia turned towards her with a look of shock on his face as his ally fell only a few feet away from him.  The other one turning his head, momentarily taking his focus off of the Iroh in front of him.

_Got you_ , Irelia thought.

Irelia watched while Iroh used his sword to disarm the mercenary in front of him, and then followed up by stabbing the sword deep into his stomach.  Irelia saw the mercenary’s expression change from one of shock to pure horror.  She didn’t even have a chance to try and engage the last mercenary as she saw him make a break for the forest as fast as he could.  Irelia debated whether she should try and catch him or not, but decided against it, figuring that tending to her allies was more important.

Irelia walked over to Iroh and asked, “Are you alright?”

“I’ve been better, lass, but I’ll live.”

Irelia let out a sigh of relief that she didn’t even realize she was holding.

After learning that Iroh was alright, she turned to go help Arvile. However, she saw that the mysterious warrior who had helped her earlier was aiding Arvile with the mercenaries around him.  Irelia only caught a glimpse of the end of the fight.  A mercenary had tried to block an attack from the hooded warrior, but with all of the momentum and strength the hooded warrior put behind her attack she broke through his defenses and slashed him deeply across the chest.

As Irelia surveyed the area all she saw among the darkness was a mess of death and destruction.  There wasn’t much left of the little campsite they had set up, but as the four of them walked towards the fire in the center it didn’t appear that anyone was wounded.  Once everyone had got into the light of the campfire Irelia could see that exhaustion was clearly etched onto Iroh’s and Arvile’s faces, and with how tired Irelia felt she was sure that her face probably wasn’t any different.

“Are you both alright?”  Irelia asked

“Of course, it’ll take more than a few mercenaries to take me out!”  Arvile’s normally confident voice was laced with exhaustion.

“And what about you lass, what’s your name?”  Iroh asked the hooded stranger.

The hooded stranger ignored the question, instead asking “Who are you?  Were you the soldiers sent by Karma?”

Irelia winced at the stranger’s rudeness. _Iroh’s not going to stand for that_.

“I appreciate the help that you gave us lass, but the least you could do is tell us your name.  As you can see we’re not exactly having the greatest night tonight, so a little faith on your part would be appreciated!”

The stranger huffed, “Fine.  My name is Riven, now are you the ones that were sent by Karma?”

“If you are the ex-Noxian commander Riven, then yes we are; and judging by that sword of yours,” Iroh assumed as he motioned towards Riven’s broken great sword, “I’d say that is a pretty safe bet.”

“So Riven, how did you know where to find us?”  Irelia asked curtly.

A tinge of annoyance crossed Riven’s face at Irelia’s tone, but she otherwise responded normally.  “I saw the campfire while I was in town, and by the looks of it so did every single mercenary in this area.  I thought we were supposed to meet in town?  You guys should have known that this area was too dangerous to camp out in.”

“We sent our scout ahead to go meet you.  Didn’t you see her on the way here?”  Irelia questioned.

A bit of surprise showed up on Riven’s face, “No.  I didn’t see anyone on the way here.”

Worry crossed everyone’s face.  Arvile was the first one to question Sumona’s disappearance.  “Wait, so then where is Sum---”

Arvile stopped mid-sentence.  As Irelia looked over to see why, horror crossed her face as she noticed an arrow protruding from his chest.

Iroh ran up to him, catching him before he fell and gently laid him on the ground as he inspected the wound.

Irelia and Riven both drew their swords out of habit and positioned themselves defensively around Iroh.  Waiting for some sort of answer to come as to what had just happened, but they were only met with silence.

The next few minutes were a blur to Irelia as Iroh barked orders at both her and Riven to fetch him various supplies.

After a while Iroh stopped asking for supplies, Irelia wasn’t sure if she should be relieved or worried at this.

“I-is he going to be alright?”  Irelia asked.

Iroh’s only response was a slow shake of his as he got up to wash his hands off with some leftover water from their canteens.

“No lass, he’s gone.”  Iroh spoke solemnly.

As Irelia gazed blankly into the distance, she felt a hand on her shoulder.  When she looked up to see who it was, she was surprised to see that it was Riven.

“I’m sorry for your loss.”  Riven expressed, her eye’s never quite meeting Irelia’s.

“We didn’t even know each other that well, this was our first mission together.”  Irelia voiced as a tear fell down her face, “he was always acting so unprofessional.  Kind of like a child playing soldier.”

“You tried your best, no one could have foreseen that arrow coming.  We thought we got all of the mercenaries.” Riven declared, trying to sound comforting.

“No, that isn’t true.  One got away earlier, I didn’t think anything of it at the time.” Irelia whispered, admonishing herself.

“Still, we were in the middle of battle.  You couldn’t abandon your allies just to chase after one mercenary.”

“I should have chased after him to make sure!”

“You were more concerned with the random Noxian soldier among your comrades.  Besides, it isn’t like we saw any of them with bows.”

“Riven’s right lass, we’re all soldiers.  We knew the risks going into this.”  At this Iroh started to pack up their remaining supplies.  “Now lassies, I’m not about to stand around here waiting to get ambushed again, nor am I going to leave a fallen soldier out here.  We need to get his body to town so he can be returned to his family, and report what has happened to the council.”

“What should we do about the rest of the mercenaries?”

“One soldier is dead, and another is missing.  We’re talented, but there’s only three of us.  We need to regroup and figure out our next course of action.”  As Iroh proclaimed this he started to use some sticks and cloth to create a makeshift stretcher for Arvile’s body.

Iroh continued, “I need one of you to help me carry Arvile’s body into town, and the other has to carry the rest of our supplies.”

Riven was the first to speak up, “I’ll carry the supplies for you, you should be the one to help carry your comrade’s body into town.”

“Thank you.”

 

* * *

 

**Later that night**

Irelia, Iroh, and Riven had given Arvile’s body over to the proper authorities to have him taken back to his family.  Right now they were in the local inn figuring out what their next course of action should be.

“We should keep going with the operation.”  Irelia asserted.

“I would love to lass, but we just don’t have the forces to do it right now.”

“If we give up now then the losses that we have had would have been for nothing!  We can’t just leave these people to be terrorized by the mercenaries, we have to do something.”

“Like what lass?  We don’t even know where all of the camps are.  If we just go wandering around the mountains aimlessly looking for them we are going to get ourselves killed.”

Irelia sat back, brooding on what they should do next.

“What about Sumona?  We still don’t even know where she is.”  Iroh continued.

Riven sighed before speaking up, “I could help you search for her, I know the surrounding area pretty well.”

“You two go ahead and do that lassies. I’m going to arrange our transportation home.”  As Iroh conveyed this he got up and made his way towards the inn’s exit.

 

* * *

 

“We need to spread out and search as much of the area as we can.”  Riven explained.

“We already covered half of this area when we traveled towards the town.”  Irelia responded.

“True, which is why we need to spread out more so we can cover more ground.  We know that she probably wasn’t along the road, otherwise we would have seen something already.”

“Alright, you search the eastern path and I’ll search the western path.  Make sure to stay close by, I would prefer to not get ambushed again tonight.”

With that Riven and Irelia started searching their respective paths for any clue as to what could have happened to Sumona.  After a half hour of searching without any success, Irelia finally found a clue when she saw some disturbed foliage away from the path.

Irelia called out to Riven as she walked over to investigate, “Riven!  I think I fou—“

Irelia’s voice cut out as she saw tattered clothing on the ground and among the foliage and a large pool of blood.

_No….not again_ Irelia thought to herself as she searched the surrounding area for signs of a body.  The scene eerily reminded her of when her brother Zelos had went missing, as images of the past flashed through her mind.

* * *

 

 

**_A few years earlier_ **

_Irelia was lying in the infirmary.  Even though she insisted that she was alright, the doctors made her stay just to make sure that she was uninjured after the battle at the Placidium._

_“Lass, do you have a moment?”  Iroh asked, as he entered the room in full military uniform.  He was an old friend of Irelia’s father, and had helped convince the Ionian military to let her and Zelos fight against Noxus when they had invaded a few weeks prior._

_“Of course, what do I owe for the pleasure of this visit General Iroh?”  Irelia responded._

_Iroh took his hat off and held it over his chest, twisting it in his hands._

_Irelia noted his unusual behavior, “is something wrong?  It isn’t like you to be nervous.”_

_“Lass, it is about Zelos.  I’m afraid that he’s missing.  There are search parties out looking for him as we speak.”_

_“Wh-what do you mean?  Wasn’t he sent to get aid from Demacia?”  Irelia stammered._

_“Aye, and we contacted Demacia and no one has reported him showing up.”_

_“B-but maybe he just hasn’t arrived yet.  Demacia’s  a whole ocean and continent away, it would take him awhile to get there!”_

_“We questioned people at every dock, no one fitting his description was reported leaving the island.”_

**_Six weeks later_ **

_Irelia’s work was disturbed when she heard a knock on her front door.  As she opened the door, she was greeted by Iroh and an Ionian soldier dressed in full military uniform carrying a folded Ionian flag with a military hat on top of it.  As soon as Irelia saw it her eye’s filled up with tears. She knew what the soldiers were going to say before they even spoke._

_“I’m sorry Ms. Lito, but the search for Zelos has been called off.  After searching for him for weeks and after contacting Demacia, the state has decided to declare him KIA.  I’m sorry for your loss.”  The soldier stated._

_Iroh walked up to Irelia and supported her as she began to crumble to the ground, trying his best to comfort her as much as possible._

* * *

 

Riven ran over to Irelia when she heard her call out.  Irelia’s voice cutting out so suddenly gave her a sinking feeling.  Things were already going badly for the mission, Riven wasn’t sure if the Ionian government would still honor their agreement after the loss of at least two of the soldiers sent to escort her.

“Are you alright!?  I thought you were attacked when your voice cut out like that.  Did you find any…” Riven’s voice trailed off as she got next Irelia and saw the cloth and pool of blood gleaming in the moonlight.

_That’s a lot of blood, no one could survive that much blood loss,_ Riven thought to herself.

Riven finally looked away from the blood and up at Irelia.  She was planning on having her help search for a body to confirm who it was.  When she saw the distant look on Irelia’s face that plan quickly melted away.

_She’s completely out of it,_ Riven thought to herself.

Riven recognized the look from personal experience.  She decided that she didn’t know how Irelia would react if she tried to snap her out of it.  Instead, Riven led her over to boulder near the road and sat her down upon it.  Afterwards, she went back over to the torn up foliage and looked around for any signs to confirm the source of the blood.  After searching the entire surrounding area for what felt like forever and finding nothing, she decided to gather up the cloth and return to Irelia so they could go back to the village.

 

* * *

 

A lone figure walks into a pitch black cave carrying a torch.  The torch does little to illuminate the cave, but instead casts an eerie shadow.  Suddenly the shadow jumps off the wall and manifests itself into a human form in front of the lone figure.

**_“How was the road trip?”_**   The shadow asked.

“Almost everything went according to the plan, my liege.  They fought off the first band, but unfortunately I was only able to take out one of the marks.”

**_“Tell me that you at least got the Noxian or the Will of the Blades?  Or did you just go for the easiest kill?”_** The shadow questioned, his voice tinged with annoyance.

“B-But my liege, I went with the only one that I could.  The others were too on guard.”

At this the shadow moved forward towards the figure and stood over them menacingly.

**_“I see how it is, I give you a job, it gets a little hard, and so you do the bare minimum regardless of what I ACTUALLY NEED YOU TO DO!”_ **

The figure stumbles back in terror at the shadow’s rage.

**_“You need to make this up to me Sumona, I don’t tolerate failures.  My plan is going to be more difficult to unfold with the Noxian and Will of the Blades still alive.”_ **

The shadow then walked up to Sumona and placed its hand on her throat.  Suddenly Sumona couldn’t breathe as a chill overtook her throat, it felt like all the muscles in her throat had frozen in place.

In a whispered voice Sumona choked out, “L-l-lo-rd Z-ed….p-p-ple-as-e (gasp) F-f-f-or-g-g-ive M-m-m-e!”

The shadow released her throat, and she dropped to the ground gasping for air.

**_“You better not fail me again Sumona, otherwise we will be having words.”_** The shadow chuckled to itself, **_“Well, at least I will have words.”  
_** With that the shadow walked away from Sumona.  As she looked up, she saw the shadow give a sarcastic wave without even looking back at her as it disappeared into the darkness.

_What have I gotten myself into_?  Sumona thought to herself. Pulling herself upright she continued,  _Oh well, no turning back now.  Better to be the winning side, then to go down with the ship._

****


	7. Last Days of Normalcy

It had been several days since Riven had gotten back to the Placidium with Irelia from Navori.  When they returned, Irelia offered to let Riven stay at her place, a request that she didn’t have much choice but to accept.  Riven figured that staying with Irelia would be better than staying as a guest of the Ionian government, which would have guards following her everywhere.  Although Riven wanted protection from Noxian assassins, that didn’t mean she wanted to forsake her privacy.  This was a luxury that she only recently had been able to appreciate and now that she had it, she didn’t want to give it up.  

Riven’s thoughts were interrupted as she arrived at Karma’s office.  The Duchess of Ionia had requested to meet with Riven so they could talk about the terms of their agreement.  Riven wasn’t too worried about what Karma had to say, she already heard from Irelia that the Ionian officials had deemed the mission an overall success.  After Riven, Irelia, and Iroh had left Navori, the Ionian government had sent some scouts to check on the status of the mercenary camps.  While there was still the possibility of other mercenary camps in the area, the scouts found that the camp near the town was abandoned.  Riven wasn’t sure if they had spent too many forces on the ambush, or if they got up and left for fear of being found.  Either way, the town and traveling merchants haven’t been bothered by them in over a week.  This was what had led the Ionian officials to declare it as a success, even though Irelia expressed that she felt it was the exact opposite.

“Come in.”

As she heard this Riven entered into Karma’s room.  The room itself was of moderate size; containing a desk, some chairs, some bookshelves, and a couple stacks of paper work.  The decoration was simple like most rooms in Ionia.  Karma wore a simple black and white dress that appeared to cover most of her body, except for around her biceps.  Riven had noticed in her time in Ionia that the people of this country loved sleeves that didn’t connect to their shirts.  Riven couldn’t bring herself to understand how or why this piece of Ionian fashion had come to be.  As Riven approached the desk Karma got up and extended her hand.

“Hello, we have talked much, but I do not think that we have been properly introduced yet.  I am Karma, the Duchess of Ionia.”

Riven accepted Karma’s handshake and introduced herself before taking a seat in one of the chairs that sat in front of the Duchess’ desk.

“So Riven, as per our agreement we will provide you with a home for you.  We will also post guards around the perimeter to try and keep you safe.  Hopefully in future---”

Riven raised her hand, interrupting Karma.

“I appreciate the offer of protection, but I would prefer not to have guards following me around everywhere.  I’d rather have shelter from Noxus and extradition immunity more than anything else.”

Karma sat back and folded her arms.

“I’m sorry, but I cannot let you stay here unsupervised.  I know that you have reached out to us for help, but you are still an ex-Noxian soldier.  It would not be in my best interest to let you roam around unsupervised.”  Karma replied flatly.

_I figured as much, can’t say I blame her though._  Riven thought to herself.  Riven mentally went through her options, while she wouldn’t mind having a house to herself, being followed around by guards is out of the question.  After a bit of thinking a solution popped into Riven’s mind.

“How about if I continue to stay with Irelia?  I’ve been staying with her ever since we got back from Navori, so you wouldn’t have to worry about providing me with a home.  As for you wanting me to be supervised, what better person to keep an eye on me than the captain of the guard herself?”

A look of satisfaction shot across Karma’s face for a second, “Assuming that you can get Irelia’s permission, I have no qualms with this plan.”

Riven felt a sense of relief and satisfaction wash through her as Karma spoke those words.

“If there isn’t anything else that you wanted to talk to me about, I assume that we are done here?”

“You are free to go Riven.”

“Thank you,” Riven said as she got up and started to leave.

“Just one more thing, Riven.”

Riven paused at the door, and glanced back at Karma.

“If Irelia doesn’t agree to let you stay at her residence,” Karma paused to let her words sink in, “You will report back here immediately to pick up your guards.  Understood?”

Riven nodded her consent as she left the office.

_Ionian hospitality don’t fail me now._

 

* * *

 

Zed overlooked his ninjas as they went through the obstacle course one by one.  The obstacle course, which could easily be reconfigured to suit their needs, was setup to mimic an Ionian mansion.  Their goal was simple; get in, “assassinate” their target, and get out without being seen.  While the goal was simple, the challenge was not.  Their target was being guarded by their peers who posed as guards, and the rooms were wide open, with few places to hide.  Those that succeeded got to move on to the next level, those that failed had to try again in a different configuration.  Those that failed were required to spar an elder student.  While ninjas didn’t fight in hand to hand combat often, it was a good skill to have and ensured that his students didn’t fail often.

Zed watched from above the obstacle course as a student went through the course.  She would “kill” whenever the opportunity arose, without thought or reason.

**_“Now isn’t she a bloodthirsty one, I like her.”_ **  The shadow commented.

“Our path is not one of mindless violence.”

The shadow turned to Zed, if he had eyebrows they would have been raised in disbelief.   **_“Really?  That is your response after wiping out more than half of the Kinkou order?”_ **

Zed turned towards the shadow, “That was not my call!  Had it been up to me, I would have banished the heretics.”

The shadow changed to a more upbeat tone, **_“Ah, but that would have left loose ends, and we both know you can’t have a plan with loose ends.”_ **

Zed ignored the shadow’s rebuttal and looked back towards the obstacle course as the female student approached the end of the obstacle course.  She had about three rooms left before she reached her target, and showed no sign of slowing down her massacre.  He decided that he would show the student the error of her ways.  Personally.

Zed jumped down, donned a guard uniform but kept his face mask on, and made his way to the room before the assassination target.  As he entered, Zed gestured for the students posing as body guards to leave the room as he placed himself in front of the door to the target, putting his back to the entrance.  His students were confused at first, but swiftly left the room.  They knew better than to question Zed’s orders.   Zed did not have to wait long for the student to arrive.

Zed could feel the air pressure in the room change as the door behind him was opened.  He could feel the student’s presence, and sighed to himself internally as he heard her footsteps.

_How far has this order fallen that someone could make it this far in this manner?_

As he felt her approach, Zed turned pulling his knee up to his chest and delivering a swift kick to her sternum.  He watched as she flew back and landed harshly on the ground, clearly not expecting any sort of resistance.

“Not even a backwards roll to recover?  It seems things are worse than I thought.”  Zed mused out loud.

The student looked dazed and confused for a second, but quickly snapped back to reality.  She looked up as Zed approached her.  A look of shock overtook her face as Zed grabbed her by the collar.  He dragged her across the floor to the far side of the room, before throwing her through one of the walls.  Zed walked through the hole in the wall, and gazed at her as she laid in the main viewing area of the training hall.  She laid there, in front of all her fellow students, unmoving as she attempted to decipher the events that had just transpired.

“You have **_failed_ ** the obstacle course, you have **_failed_ ** your classmates, and worst of all you have **_FAILED ME.”_ **  As Zed speaks, a dark and echoing tone overtakes his voice.

The student groaned that she had failed her lord and master, again.  “I don’t understand, I was nearly at the target and no one was able to stop me!  They were all dead before they could sound the alarm.”

“And THAT is why you failed, Mentiri.”

“Forgive me, my lord, but the object was to assassinate the target.  What should it matter if I killed a few guards along the way?”  Mentiri defended as she slowly got to her feet.

Mentiri wasn’t standing for more than a second before Zed started to deliver a flurry of blows that she was barely able to block.  Chastising her every time he landed a hit.

“Ninjas only kill when necessary!”

“Ninjas don’t leave behind evidence!”

“Ninjas are silent!”

“And ninjas especially do not enter through the front door!”  Zed yelled as he delivered an uppercut to her stomach, doubling her over.

Zed turned his attention to the students who were watching in horror and awe.

“Let this be a lesson to the rest of you.  If I find anyone else breaking these rules, you’ll receive double the punishment because you’ve already been warned!  We are ninjas of the Order of the Shadow, not a group of mindless, bloodthirsty mercenaries!”

 

* * *

  


After leaving Karma’s office, Riven headed straight back to Irelia’s house and explained the situation to Irelia.

“So can I stay here?  I really don’t feel like being trailed by guards everywhere I go.”  Riven pleaded.

Irelia fumbled her words, seemingly baffled by the situation.

_Maybe I should have slowed down in my explanation._

After a few moments, Irelia gathered herself together, and gave a proper response.

“Sure, it would be nice to not come home to an empty house again.”  Irelia responded, looking a little saddened towards the end of her statement.

Riven felt like a weight had been lifted from her shoulders as Irelia finished her sentence.

“Thank you.  I’m sorry for imposing myself on you like this, but I’m not comfortable with the idea of some old guys in armor following me around.”

Riven went over and took a seat in a nearby chair, relaxing.  For the first time, in quite a long time, her mind was worry free.  Riven sat there for a couple of minutes as Irelia prepared a meal for the two of them.  After setting down the plates of food, Irelia spoke up,

“By the way, next week I am going to a festival that is going to last the whole day.  I am not sure if you want to come.”

“You mean The Harrowing?  No thanks, I’m not into dressing up.”

“Alright then, I guess we will have to ask Karma if she is alright with leaving you here unsupervised for the day.”

Riven gulped as she weighed her options.

_I really would prefer not to go, but I wanna go see Karma even less._

Riven didn’t have anything against Karma personally, but due to the circumstances, she didn’t want to see Karma any more than necessary.  At least not regarding anything involved with guards.

“So, where is a good place to get a costume?”  Riven replied with forced cheer.

A small smirk made its way onto Irelia’s face as she replied, “don’t worry, I know just where to get them.”

“Why do I get the feeling that I’m not going to like how this turns out?”  Riven mumbled to herself.

 

* * *

 

_Slow and Steady_ , Riven told herself as she practiced her sword exercises.

Whenever she had free time, Riven would practice the exercises and forms that had been drilled into ever since she was a recruit in the Noxus army.  Riven had learned them long ago, around when she first joined the army.  It didn’t matter whether it was the basics or the advanced, Riven enjoyed them all the same.  They helped put her mind at ease, and kept her fighting clean and precise.  Riven adjusted herself a few times as she went through stabbing and slashing the imaginary enemies in her exercise.

While she was practicing she could feel the presence of someone as they walked outside the back of Irelia’s house.  Riven guessed that it was Irelia, but wasn’t sure since her eyes were closed.  Occasionally Riven would practice with her eyes closed, it forced her to focus more and any mistakes that she made in her stances became all the more obvious.  Whoever the observer was merely watched in silence, which was something that Riven appreciated.  There was nothing that frustrated Riven more while practicing than for someone to interrupt or stop her part way through one of her sword forms.  It became difficult to jump back into it once stopped, not because she lacked the ability to, but due to the fact that it was hard to mentally get back into the same trance like state it put her in.

As Riven opened up her eyes, she saw Irelia leaning against a tree in front of the back porch of Irelia’s house watching her intently.

“I wasn’t aware that Noxus put so much care into the martial arts of their soldiers.”  Irelia’s voice was laced with curiosity.

Riven frowned a bit at the statement, “Only to those that showed strength.”

Riven’s statement was followed by a short silence, Irelia most likely figuring that she was going to say more.  After a bit Irelia decided to speak up, trying to keep the conversation going.

“Oh, well where did you learn to use your sword?  Considering the size of that sword, it isn’t something I think you would learn how to use in just a few months.  With the ease and level of skill that you wield it with, you appear to have a few years’ experience with it.”

Riven looked down at her sword and spoke more to herself than Irelia, “How long have I had this sword?  Six, no, maybe, seven years?”

“Riven?”

Riven looked up at Irelia as she took a seat in the grass, looking confused at Irelia.

“How old were you when you joined!?”

“I don’t know, probably around when I became a teenager?”

As Riven looked at Irelia’s face, she noticed the look of astonishment on the captain’s face.

“No offense, but if you served so much time in the military why would Noxus want to hunt you down?  I thought Noxians only had to serve for a decade?  I don’t know how old you are, but you are only two or three years older than I am.  That would mean that your decade should almost be over, if not over already.”

Riven shifted uncomfortably, not liking where the conversation was going.

“Let’s just say that Noxus may not like the idea of their poster child defecting.  Look, I still love Noxus and eventually I am going to return home and rid Noxus of the corruption that plagues it and return it to its former glory.  I just have some things I have to take care of before I can do that.”  After she finished Riven cursed at herself for letting her emotions overcome her.  She didn’t like talking about Noxus or the past, especially to someone that wouldn’t be able to understand her situation.

Riven continued, “Look, can we change the topic?  I figure this particular conversation wasn’t the reason that you came out here.”

The look on Irelia’s face told Riven that they would continue this conversation in the future, before it shifted to a slightly happier expression.

“I just wanted to let you know that I got our costumes for the Harrowing.  I wanted you to try it on to make sure that it fits.”

_Oh right, The Harrowing._ Riven thought to herself slightly worried about what the costumes were.

 

* * *

 

**A little while later**

_How did I get myself into this situation…?_  Riven thought to herself.

As Riven stared at herself in the mirror, she was surprised the outfit actually fit her.  It was a little tighter than Riven would have preferred, but she was able to fit into it.  Though that didn’t mean that she liked it, Irelia had only given her a choice between two outfits.

There was only two things that Riven liked about the outfit: the first was the golden shoulder guard, which reminded her of her own.  The second was that unlike Irelia’s outfit, Riven actually was wearing pants instead of a skirt.

Riven looked down at her pants as she walked out to meet Irelia and thought.   _What color is this anyway?_ The pants seemed to shift from white in the light to a dull but light blue whenever they were in the dark.

“You look nice.”  Irelia commented as Riven entered the room.

Riven huffed, “Noxians don’t wear pink!”  As she said this she motioned towards the pink top she was wearing, that had a front piece that traveled from her stomach all the way down to her knees.  On the opposite side of her body, there was another piece of cloth in the shape of a flower that started from her lower back and went down the same length.  “And what is with these sleeves?  What is the point of sleeves that start at your elbows?”  Riven continued as she motioned towards the golden bracers on her arms that had sleeves underneath that matched her pants.

“Oh yeah, don’t forget about the jewelry.”  Irelia said as she walked over to a nearby table and picked something up out of Riven’s view.

“What jewelry?”  Riven questioned hesitantly.

As Riven answered Irelia walked over and placed a giant golden amulet around her neck.  The amulet looked to Riven more like it belonged in Shurima rather than Ionia.  After that Irelia put a golden head piece on her that had five white petals coming out of it.

“I look ridiculous,” Riven said with a blank expression, “where did you even get this stuff anyway?”

Irelia looked away, dodging the question.

“I’m going to go try on my costume, be right back!”  As Irelia said this she quickly left

“Wait, can I take this costume off!”

Riven was only met with silence as Irelia went into her room.

Riven had no idea how long it was before Irelia had come back, but it felt like forever just sitting in Irelia’s living room waiting.  She was going to get changed out of her costume, but couldn’t when she realized that the room Irelia was changing in held her clothes.

As Irelia walked out the first thing that Riven noticed was the reason why she hadn’t worn that costume.  The deep purple dress snaked its way down from Irelia’s hips to her calves, movement would have been nearly impossible if there wasn’t a slit going down the side.  The tank top that Irelia wore was a dull white except for around her chest which was a deep purple like the bottom of her dress.  Riven barely noticed the purple heels that Irelia was wearing.

“So?  What do you think?”  Irelia asked as she turned so Riven could see her outfit better.

Riven merely pointed towards Irelia’s arms and shoulders.  After seeing this Irelia rolled her eyes, having an idea as to what Riven was going to say.

“What is the point of wearing a sleeveless shirt if you are just going to have sleeves on your shoulders and arms anyway?  Why don’t you just let them connect!?”

“Alright, I get it, you don’t like some of our sleeve styles.  What about the rest of the outfit?”  Irelia asked again as she loosened the fabric from her shirt that looped up around her neck.

Riven shrugged her shoulders, “You look nice”

“Thanks, but don’t you have any other descriptive words to use?”  Irelia questioned

“Um….You look REALLY nice?”  Riven wasn’t quite sure what Irelia wanted her to say.

Irelia merely let out a sigh, “we are going to have to work on making you a bit more lady like.”

Riven gulped, _I don’t like the sound of that…_


	8. The Harrowing

“You’re late.”  Syndra said curtly, a slightly annoyed expression on her face.  Zed was supposed to be at her fortress half an hour ago.

“Yeah, yeah.”  Zed replied waving his hand dismissively, “I was busy.”

Syndra scoffed at Zed’s vague excuse, “I don’t understand how someone who has this” As Syndra said this she motioned towards Zed’s shadow portal, “could ever be late.”

“Unlike you, I actually have things that need to be taken care.”

Syndra continued, ignoring Zed’s remark, “Seriously, anywhere you want to be, in an instant.” 

**_“She has a point you know.”_** Zed’s shadow chimed in with an upbeat, yet mocking tone.

“See, even your shadow agrees with me!”

“Since when do you take his side?”  Zed responded surprised.

“Since he was actually here on time!  How does your own shadow beat you here?  I mean seriously, INSTANTANEOUS TRANSPORTATION.”  After saying this Syndra leaned in towards Zed and whispered, “by the way, your shadow is really bad at Ro Sham Bo.”

**_“It’s a stupid game anyway!”_** The shadow remarked.

Syndra patted the shadow on the back, “Don’t be mad, I’m sure you will have better luck next time!”

“Whatever, I’m here now.”

Syndra sighed, using her magic to push Zed towards the garden exit, “Just go get changed already, I’d like to get going soon.”

 

* * *

  

It was the day of The Harrowing, Irelia wasn’t as exited for the holiday itself as she was excited to see all the citizens of Ionia coming to the Placidium and enjoying themselves together.  Usually the Placidium was a relatively quiet place for people to conduct business, but today it was bustling with people.  There were vendors everywhere for a various different things, there was food, games, Knick knacks, and much more scattered throughout the Placidium.  At various places there was live shows and performances taking place that would go on all throughout the day and well into the night, which was when most of the fun was supposed to take place anyway.  Irelia felt a little bit weird but slightly happy to be at the festival as just Irelia, and not as the captain of the guard.  The last few years that she had been at the festival she was always watching from afar keeping the peace, rather than being an actual participant.  It was rare that there was ever any issue’s requiring the guards at a festival, since punishment was more severe during this time.  The festival was meant to be a time of enjoyment and relaxation.  Enemies were encouraged to set their differences aside, even if only for the day, to enjoy being around friends and family.  Irelia couldn’t remember the last time that she had someone to go to the festival with, this is why she usually ended up working during the time of the festival.  Not this year though, hence why that she was so excited to participate in the festival.  She and Riven had been at the festival for about two hours now, they had just gotten a snack at a vendor and were eating at a bench as they talked.

“So what do you do at these festivals anyway?  In Noxus we didn’t do much other than dress up, so I am a bit lost.” Riven asked Irelia before she took a bite of her food.

Irelia shrugged her shoulders, “Have fun with friends.”

“That’s it?”  Riven replied.

“What more do you want?”

“Does it even have a purpose?  Forgive my ignorance, but the holidays didn’t have much of a place in Noxus’ military.”

“Of course!  Long ago, and especially people around here, think that tonight is the night when dark spirits come to Runeterra to mess with its citizens.  Some even think that creatures of the Shadow Isles leave their home to come visit the rest of the world.”  Irelia explained as Riven ate the treat Irelia had bought her.

“So why the festival, and the costumes?  Wouldn’t people want to hide away in their homes from these ‘creatures’?” Riven asked skeptically.

Irelia shook her head, “Quite the opposite actually, people come together in hopes that the spirits won’t bother them.  As you probably noticed, Ionia is a pretty big and mountainous island.  That is why we host the festival in the Placidium, so those that live out in the country don’t have to be alone.  That and it is just fun.  I think that is why we exchange candy actually, so that even those who are particularly stubborn will come, if only for the sake of their children having fun and getting gifts.”

“Alright, so that explains the festival, but why the costumes?  You don’t need costumes to have a festival.”  Riven questioned.

Irelia tapped her finger to her lip, thinking how she wanted to answer Riven’s question.  While Irelia knew a lot about The Harrowing, she had never met someone who didn’t know a thing about it.

“For the spirits.”  Irelia answered.

“What do costumes have to do with spirits?  Wouldn’t that just draw more attention to yourself?”  As Riven said this she lifted up her free arm looking at her costume to emphasize her statement.

“There are two types of costumes for The Harrowing.  Light and dark costumes, light costumes like ours are used to ward off evil.  Dark costumes like theirs,” As Irelia said this she pointed towards a couple wearing dark costumes, “are used to confuse evil.  Later on tonight when the main event is going on we will pair up with people who have dark costumes on and exchange gifts.”

“I don’t get it, how does this,” Riven pointed at her costume as she said this “accomplish that?”  A few seconds went by before Riven continued, “Wait, did you say gifts?”

Irelia chuckled at Riven, “Don’t worry about it.  I have you covered already for the gift, all you need to do is have fun.”

Irelia got up and stretched out her cramped limbs, “Alright, enough education and loafing around.  It is time for us to have some fun!  Let’s go check out one of the events that is going on!”  As Irelia said this she grabbed Riven’s wrist and pulled her along as she went towards one of the events.

 

* * *

 

 The cave was a few miles outside of the Placidium.  While the sun outside was bright, the cave still had an unmistakable darkness to it.  Sumona had been asked to gather a small band of mercenaries together from the camps around the area.  The mercenaries were talking amongst themselves, mostly about their past misdeeds.

Sumona positioned herself so all mercenaries could see her.  Upon seeing her they slowly quieted down, curious as to why they had been summoned to a cold dark cave on the day of The Harrowing.

“Over a week ago we were tasked with ambushing and killing a group of Ionian officials and a Noxian deserter.  We failed that task.”  Sumona spoke her words slowly and clearly.

There was grumbled responses among the mercenaries, but no one called Sumona out directly.

“I am here today to offer you a second chance.  The Noxian deserter and her friend, a high ranking Ionian official, are at the festival.  Go there, kill them, and you can still claim your reward.”

A mercenary of medium build and size with no visible hair on his body, but a respectable amount of scars stepped forward.

“And what is stopping us from taking the reward from you ‘ere and now?”

Sumona turned her head slightly to give a short, sarcastic glance to the darkness.

“Well for one, it isn’t here.”

“That may be true, but with all of us here and you being alone…  I think that we could get the answer out of you.”  A wolfish grin crept onto the mercenary’s face as he spoke this.

**_“Oh, but she’s not alone.”_** The shadow said as he stepped out of the darkness, **_“Though if you decided to get some answers from her that would mean that I would have to try and replace her, and I still need her so that’s a no-go.”_** As the shadow said this he wagged his finger for emphasis.

“And who would stop us?  You?”  As the mercenary said this he turned to the others, “What’s a shadow and one little girl going to do to us? AHAHA”

Sumona winced, _he...is going to regret that.  Hopefully not with his life._ Though the shadow didn’t have a face, Sumona guessed that if it did that it would be grinning right now.

The shadow started walking towards the mercenary, **_“I was hoping you would say that.”_**

The mercenary merely laughed, “What are you going to do to me, huh?”

**_“Look down, and you’ll find out.”_**   The shadow replied nonchalantly as he pointed towards the floor.

The mercenary looked startled for a second before he glanced at his feet, and realized that he couldn’t see them through the swirling darkness at his feet.

_Oh dear, please only be one, please only take one._

“What the ‘ell is this!  I can’t get out!”  The mercenary cried as he struggled, attempted to free himself.  Unfortunately this only quickened the process of him sinking.

The other mercenaries backed away, uncomprehending and terrified at what was happening.  No one dared to try and help the man, in fear of what would happen to them if they did.

“This ain’t funny!  Let me out of here, I was just makin’ a joke.  Let me free and we’ll find your gals for you.”  He pleaded as the darkness was around his thighs.

**_“What’s the matter?  Afraid of the dark?”_ **

_I’m going to regret this._   Sumona thought, “My liege, we need the mercenaries in place to set your plan in motion.”

The shadow hummed.  A few seconds later the mercenary was swallowed by the portal, only to be spat out from another portal that appeared on cave’s ceiling.

**_“You heard the woman, now be gone with you all!”_ **

After the shadow finished speaking, he disappeared into the darkness.  With the shadows disappearance the small band of mercenaries marched out of the cave towards the Placidium.

Sumona let out a sigh of relief.   _That went so much better than expected._

* * *

 

“So you’ve returned?  Ready for some more Ro Sham Bo?”  Syndra asked as she got up, just finishing tending to some of the flowers in her garden.

**_“Where is Zed?”_ **

“What are you asking me for?  Shouldn’t you already know, I mean he is your other half.”

**_“Right, yes of course.”_**   As the shadow said this he disappeared again.  A few seconds later Syndra heard Zed yelp and then a loud crash.

“Don’t do that!”  Syndra heard Zed yell at his shadow.

“You better now have broken any of my stuff in there!”  Syndra yelled towards her fortress.

“I can fix it!”  Zed yelled back.

The shadow reappeared a few seconds later, **_“He will be out shortly.”_**

“Thanks.” Syndra replied satirically.  After a few seconds Syndra raised her hands up in the standard Ro Sham Bo Form, with an inquiring look on her face.

The shadows shoulders went up and then dropped them low, in what Syndra assumed was his way of sighing.  Then he raised his hands mirroring Syndra.

 

A few minutes later

“Oh, finally ready to go?”  Syndra asked as Zed walked out with his costume on.

As Zed approaches Syndra he gestures his head towards the shadow, “What’s wrong with him?”

The slightly annoyed expression Syndra had from Zed ignoring her question was changed to a sly grin.  She raised her arms into the air and dramatically declared, “All fear Syndra the Ro Sham Bo warrior!”

“What….is wrong with you?” A few seconds later, “You know what, never mind.  I don’t want to know, can we go now?”

“We could have been gone an hour ago if you were on time.”  Syndra mumbled to herself.

“What was that!?”  Zed questioned.

“Nothing!”  Syndra said innocently, “Let’s get going!”

With that Zed opened up a shadow portal leading them into an alley. 

 

Syndra and Zed exited the alley way into the crowded streets.  Lanterns in the shape of pumpkins were strung from the wires that ran from building to building, casting an eerie glow on the stalls below.  The street vendors were all dressed up in various costumes ranging from beautiful to spooky to comical.

“Hey doesn’t that guy’s costume look like that one scarecrow that goes around scaring people?  What’s his name?  Faddlestacks?”  Syndra asked.

“Fiddlesticks?”  Zed responded.

“No, I’m pretty sure it’s Faddlestacks.”  Syndra said with confidence.

“Whatever, we aren’t going near it anyway.”

“Aww, but why----Oooohhh cookies!”  Syndra squealed as she got distracted by dessert.

“What?  Where!?”  Zed cleared his throat, “I mean whatever.”

“You know you want some.”  Syndra said with a grin as she pulled Zed towards the stall.

“Why, hello there.  What kind of cookies can I interest you in?”  The stall vendor asked.

The vendor was a tall man wearing a fuzzy blue outfit covering his entire body.  Syndra didn’t notice at first, but he appeared to have his son strapped to his back in a trashcan.  The son was wearing something similar to his dad, except that his was green rather than blue.  His stall contained several different kinds of cookies, each different type of cookie was shaped in its own spooky way.

“There are so many!  Um…I think I will try that kind.”  As Syndra said this she pointed to a cookie that was shaped like a bat.

“Peanut butter chocolate chip?  Good choice!”  The baker said as he handed Syndra a bag of cookies.  “A lovely choice, for the lovely couple.”

Syndra put her hand up in a mock gagging motion, after this Zed chimed in, “we are not a couple!”

“Oh, forgive me. When I saw the complimentary outfits I just assumed that you were together. Well now I know. Forgive my faux pas, here as a token of apology have the bag of cookies on the house.”

Syndra tore open the bag and started eating one of the cookies, as she took a bite she let out a groan of pleasure.  “This is amazing, I can’t believe how chewy it is!”

Upon hearing this Zed grabbed one of the cookies from the bag, up until this point he was trying to look disinterested.  “I’ll be the judge as to if they are amazing or not.”  Syndra watched as Zed ate the cookie, curious as to if he would like it or not.  Part of her hoped that he didn’t so he wouldn’t steal any more of her cookies, but his expression after a few seconds told her otherwise.

“How did you make this so chewy, yet still have it maintain its shape with all the peanut butter and chocolate?”  Zed asked.

Syndra lost interest and walked away as Zed started to talk to the baker about how magnificent his cookies were.  She chose instead to divert her attention to the other stalls around her and the various people in costumes.  Syndra didn’t find any one thing particularly interesting until she was about done her bag of cookies.

_How long is he going to take, I didn’t come here for him to talk about cookies---Hello, what do we have here?_

The object of her attention was a woman who was walking by with her friend.  Syndra didn’t pay much attention to the second woman though, she was more interested in the one closest to her.

_Now isn’t she a cutie?_ Syndra purred, _purple suits her very well, though she could do showing some more skin._ Syndra thought as she tapped her lip.

Syndra walked back over to Zed, keeping an eye on the two as she did.  When she got to him she grabbed another set of cookies, dropped the money onto the table, and then grabbed Zed by a piece of his clothing and dragged him away from the baker.

“Hey, what are you doing?”  Zed asked.  When Zed realized she wasn’t going to stop, he yelled back at the baker, “Keep in touch!”

Syndra finally let go of Zed once she had gotten him to a slightly secluded area where she could still keep an eye on the woman.  Luckily for Syndra, she and her friend had stopped at a stall for a little while.

“What was that about?  We were having a decent conversation!”  Zed questioned.

“Yeah, yeah.  I know I don’t do this often, but I need a favor.”

“This entire weekend is a favor, how about whenever you need groceries, or---” As Zed was talking, Syndra zoned him as she refocused on the woman she was staring at earlier.

Syndra zoned back into Zed’s rant a minute later as he continued, “Or how about when I had to get you those maps of the entire island!  Those weren’t easy to find you know!”

“Alright, alright, I get it.  This is different though, I need help.”

“Yeah you do.”  Zed muttered

Syndra ignored the comment, “I need you to help me get a date with that woman,” Syndra pointed over at the stall she was at, “but she has a friend.  So I need you to keep her preoccupied.”

Syndra watched as Zed blinked repeatedly for a few seconds, before he was finally able to mutter “Wait, what?”

“Soooooooooo, can you help me?  I’m going for this one way or another.”

“You’ve finally done it, I didn’t think it was possible for you to confuse me anymore than you already have, but somehow you found a way.  I’m just going to go back and talk to that baker, we have some unfinished business regarding macadamia nuts to talk about.”  With that, Zed started to walk away.

Syndra watched as Zed tried to walk away, _silly Zed, you can’t walk away from me._   She used her magic to lift Zed off the ground slightly, dragged him with her as she walked towards the stall, and gently threw Zed into the woman’s friend.  They bumped into each other, but both of them caught themselves before they fell to the ground.  Zed shot a glare back to Syndra, and she merely chuckled to herself in response as she walked up to them.

“Oh, I’m sorry about that.  Please forgive my friend, he can be a bit clumsy sometimes.”  After saying this she extended her hand towards the woman in the purple dress, “I’m Syndra by the way.”

“It’s okay, accidents happen.”  After saying this she accepted Syndra’s handshake, “I’m Irelia by the way, and this is Riven.”  As she said the latter she gestured towards the woman next to her.

“Nice to meet you Irelia, Riven.”  Syndra said politely, then her tone changed to be slightly disinterested as she said, “Oh yeah, and that’s Zed.”

Zed raised his hand up, “Hi.”

“So, what were you two looking at?”  Syndra inquired.

“We were looking at the stall vendor’s display of weapons, my friend’s sword is broken so she needs a new one.”  Irelia responded.

“Do not, my great sword is a symbol of great power given to me by---” Riven faked a cough, her cheeks turning slightly red.  “I mean it is fine, I’m the one who broke it anyway.”

Syndra looked as Irelia gave her a skeptical look.  _Crud, don’t tell me they are already dating._

“So…How do you two know each other?”

The two women looked at one another, they both wore an uncertain expression.

“Um…She came here from out of town for some work, so I am giving her a place to stay while she is here.”  Irelia answered.

Syndra cursed to herself internally, “You two live together then?  So how does that work, do you guys share a room or what?”

Syndra shot Zed a quick glare as he jabbed her with his elbow into her arm right as she finished her question.

Riven’s face looked calm as she started to say something, but quickly turned to shock when Irelia interrupted her before she could speak.  Irelia’s cheeks were a bright red as she spoke, “No, no, no, no.  Nothing like that, we each have our own rooms.”

Syndra sighed internally, _well that makes this a lot less complicated._

Riven looked at Irelia and then back over to Syndra and Zed, slightly perplexed.  “So how do you two know each other?”

“Long story.  You don’t wanna know, I wish I didn’t.”  Zed responded.  He sounded exhausted just talking about it.

“Anyway,” Syndra turned to Irelia, “I love your costume, especially the purple.  Did you make it, or buy it?”

“Neither, I actually borrowed it from a friend.”  Irelia stated.

“Wait, what?  Who?”  Riven frantically asked.

“Do not worry about it, we only borrowed them for the night.  I will return them tomorrow, and I left a note just in case they noticed!”  Irelia said sounding chipper.

_She’s almost as bad as I am.  Almost._

Irelia continued, “What about you two?”

As she asked, Syndra noticed Zed stiffen a little bit out of the corner of her eye.

“I made them both myself!”  Syndra declared proudly.

“Wow.  That is impressive, where did you get the material from?”

Syndra cursed to herself, _why did I open my big mouth._ Syndra was surprised when by some miracle Zed actually interjected himself into the conversation.

“We actually came pretty far, so it isn’t anywhere that you would know.  Instead of standing around jibber jabbing why don’t we go grab some food?  Riven would you like to grab some cookies?”

“I didn’t think about it, but I wouldn’t mi---ahh” Riven was interrupted as Zed put his arm through hers and walked back towards the baker.  As he was walking away, Syndra noticed Zed shoot a look back at her.  Even from behind his mask Syndra knew what it was, ‘you owe me.’

 

* * *

 

Irelia and Syndra were now awkwardly left alone by Zed and Riven.  Irelia felt mystified, not only by Syndra’s sudden random appearance but also by a nagging feeling that she had seen Syndra somewhere before.

Irelia’s concentration was broken when Syndra started dragging her away, “Where are we going?”

“To look around and talk so we can get to know each other better, of course!”

“Wait, but what about our friends?  How will we find them?”  Irelia asked.

“Ah, don’t worry about it.  Zed’s pretty good at finding people, well for the most part.  Worst case scenario we just search all the food stalls.”

“Does he really like food that much?”  Irelia questioned.

“Food?  No.  Cooking?  Yes.”  Syndra responded disinterested.

Syndra continued, “But enough about him, let’s get to know each other better!”

“Okay?  Where are we going again?”  Irelia asked.

“Good question, do you know anywhere around here that has cute things?”  Syndra paused for a few seconds, “Well, besides you.”

“Wait, what?”

“Nothing!”  Syndra chimed in with an innocent look on her face, “Cute things where?”

“Oh, right.  Well there’s a stall over there that is selling stuffed animals and pictures of these fluffy creatures that inhabit the Freljord.”  Irelia said as she pointed to a far off stall.

Syndra and Irelia made their way over towards the stall, as soon as Syndra caught a glimpse of the fluffy creatures she bolted towards the stall with Irelia in tow.

After Irelia recovered from Syndra nearly yanking her arm off, she noticed the expression on Syndra’s face.  She was completely entranced with the cuteness of the Freljordian creatures.

“Oh my….they are so cute!  SQUUUUUEEEE!” 

Syndra was entranced with the various cute creatures.  She picked up one of the medium sized stuff animals and after feeling how soft it was, started rubbing it against her face, “They are so soft!  Feel it Irelia!”  As Syndra said this she pushed the stuffed animal into her arms.

“Why yes, yes it is.  They are called poros.  They are mainly found in the Freljord.”  As Irelia finished she was distracted by the fact that almost everyone around them had disappeared.

“Even their names are cute!  Talk more about these poros!”  Syndra demanded.

A feeling of pride welled up in Irelia’s chest at the request, _finally!  Another scholarly person interested in the pursuit of knowledge!_

Meanwhile, in Syndra’s mind

_I must figure out a way that I can acquire one as a pet, while I’m here I might as well get some stuffed animals for my bed.  I know a good spot to put two giant poros.  I wonder if this vendor has any good artwork of poros…I wonder if I could convince Zed or Irelia to make a trip to this Freljord so I can see them up close._

Back in the Real World

Irelia closed her eyes and raised one arm up and put the other across her chest, as she prepared to teach Syndra about poros.  “Well poros are known to be very adaptable to a variety of harsh climates.  They have been found in the Shadow Isles, volcanoes, and various other places!  Though if you ask me, the poros from the Freljord are the cutest.”

After Irelia finished she noticed a group of people gathered off to the side. _That’s odd, I wonder if something’s going on over there?  Though they are all guys and none of them are dressed up._

Irelia diverted her attention back to Syndra.  “Do those people look suspicious to you?  They don’t look like they are here for the festival.  Syndra?”

Irelia put her hand on her forehead, _she is completely entranced with those poros.  She wasn’t kidding when she said she liked cute things._

When Irelia looked back she saw the group of men walking towards them.  When she noticed this she cursed to herself, _I don’t like the look of this._   Upon them getting closer she noticed that they had weapons hidden poorly under their cloaks.  After seeing this she instinctually reached for the blades on her back, unfortunately for her they weren’t there.

_Oh, let’s leave our weapons at home.  It will be fine. All you will do is scare people, and there won’t be anywhere that has a weapon!_  Irelia recalled a mock conversation she had with herself a few hours ago.

As they surrounded the two women, Irelia put herself between Syndra and the mercenaries.  Syndra, who had still been distract by poros up until this point, just realized that something was happening around her.

A bald man with lots of scars stepped forwards, “So we finally found you two.  We’ve been meaning to pay you back Irelia for that incident at the campsite, and don’t think we forgot about you Riven.”

“Who are these guys?  They’re not friends of yours right?  And why is he calling me Riven?”  Syndra asked, an inquiring look on her face.

“Not quite friends, don’t worry about it.  Just stay behind me, I will protect you.”

Irelia cursed internally, _How am I going to do this.  I don’t know if I can beat this many armed mercenaries barehanded._ Irelia was trained in hand to hand combat and fighting people bare handed who had weapons, and she was quite proficient at it, but fighting this many people was tricky.  Normally she would just run away, take one out and steal his weapon, and then pick them off one by one.  This was a little different though, she doubted that Syndra had the stamina to keep up with running away from this many mercenaries.  Not that Irelia would want to chance it even if she did, not without knowing she could take care of herself.  Otherwise she would be taking the chance of Syndra getting overwhelmed by herself.

“Mmm, as tempting of an offer as that sounds I think I’ll pass.  I’ll stand right here next to you, I can take care of myself.”

Irelia looked at her bewildered, “No offense, but even if you can fight, I think these guys are a little big for you.”  As Irelia said this a mercenary threw an axe towards Syndra, without thinking Irelia pulled her out of the way as it crashed into the stall behind them. When it landed it destroyed many of the stuffed animals on top of it. The mercenaries laughed at the senseless destruction.

Irelia saw Syndra look back at the destruction out of the corner of her eye.  A few seconds later Syndra spoke up again, “On second thought, you stand behind me.  I’ll take care of this.”  Irelia was going to protest, but the mixture of rage and annoyance on Syndra’s face told her that she should listen to her, even if it was only for a little bit.

After saying this Syndra turned towards the mercenaries in front of her.  A few of the mercenaries made some off colored remarks about her costumes as she did so.  Syndra ignored their remarks, instead she reached inside a pouch on her hip and took out a coin.

The bald mercenary, who appeared to be the leader, spoke up.  “Alright boys, let’s get this over with and get home to claim our prize!”  As he finished saying this the mercenaries all charged at them at once, and as soon as they moved Syndra flipped the coin in the air.

Irelia tensed up when they moved, but when she looked over at Syndra she still wore her angry expression but displayed no sense of fear. 

As they got closer, three dark spheres appeared out of nowhere on the ground.

_What the?_ Irelia thought.

A few seconds later the spheres went flying into the mercenaries.  Three of them went flying back as the spheres caught them in the stomach.  Suddenly the mercenary on the farthest right side was picked up in the air and went flying into one of his allies on the opposite side.  After seeing this the mercenaries stopped their charge and looked at one another, seemingly bemused on what they should do.

Syndra lifted her hand up and made a beckoning motion with it, the three remaining mercenaries were puzzled at this motion.  Irelia noticed a smirk come across Syndra’s face as the three spheres she sent out earlier came flying back to her, hitting the mercenaries along the way.  As the last of the mercenaries fell to the ground, Irelia heard the sound of metal hitting the ground.  When she looked over she saw the coin Syndra had flipped had just now hit the ground.  When Irelia redirected her attention to Syndra she saw the three spheres were now floating around her upper body, though they had shrunk significantly in size.

“What’s the matter?  I thought I did pretty well.”  Syndra commented as she turned back towards Irelia.

“Whoa, whoa, wait a second.  So you’re THAT Syndra?”  Irelia choked out.

“Mmmmm, maaaayyyybbbeeee.  Gotta say, no one here has actually recognized me before, so you’re the first!”  As she finished speaking, she patted Irelia on the back.

“Why does that not make me feel any better…?”

The sound of metal clamoring against the ground filled the air, “Syndra, we have to get you out of here.”  Irelia didn’t even let her respond before she pulled Syndra away towards an alley.

“Wait, where are we going?  Oooh are we going to run away some place romantic together?”

Irelia looked at Syndra, beyond baffled at what she had just said.  Before Irelia could speak up, the area around them turned to pitch black and she felt a hand be placed over her mouth as she was pulled backwards into the darkness.  When she woke up she found that she was on top of a building, overlooking the area that they were just in, but out of view from the soldiers running around below.

“I can’t take you anywhere can I?  You should have guessed that someone would tip off the guards.”  As Zed said this he to a plethora of guards searching the area below them, asking people what had happened.

**_“I thought that it was a stunning performance personally.”_** The shadow chimed in.

“Did that shadow just talk?  Is no one else going to question that?”  Irelia asked.

Syndra was the one to speak up, “You get used to it, don’t worry he’s harmless.”

“Or you can just ignore him like I do.”

**_“No you don’t!”_ **

“Oh, wait.  That’s Syndra I ignore, never mind.”

“Hey!”

After a bit it dawned on Irelia that someone was missing, “Wait, where’s Riven at?”

“Oh her?  She’s over there sleeping, she seemed pretty happy to get away from the festival.”  Zed answered as he pointed towards a sleeping Riven.

“You better not have done anything to her when she was sleeping.”  Irelia growled.

Zed was about to speak but Syndra beat him to it, “Don’t worry, he won’t make any moves, believe me.  The most he will do is yell at you, something to do with showing too much skin?  I don’t remember, I usually just zone him out.”

“And you wonder why I ignore you?”

Syndra merely huffed in response.

Irelia looked back over towards Riven, and then over to Zed and Syndra, _What have I gotten myself into…?_

 


	9. Attempting to Educate Syndra

“What were you doing using your magic in public like that!?”  Zed scolded.

“What?  They were just some thugs, besides they DESTROYED my cute and adorable poros!”  Syndra defended.

“What’s a poro?  Never mind, you broke our deal when you did that, so I’m going home.”

“What deal?”

“You know, the one where I said if you draw too much attention to us, you’d be on your own.  So guess what?  I’m out!”  Zed declared dramatically as he created a shadow portal.

“But, but, we were doing stuff together, and then these bad guys came outta nowhere, and I totally kicked their butts.  You can’t leave!  Wait, why didn’t I want you to leave again?”  Syndra tapped her finger against her chin thinking, “Ah, whatever just go.”  As Syndra said this she used her magic to push Zed through the shadow portal.

Syndra turned to Irelia with a seductive smile on her face, “So Irelia, what do you want to do now that we are all alone?” Syndra leaned in towards Irelia, “Hmmmm?”  

“Uhhhhhhhh, we aren’t alone though, Riven’s still here.”  Irelia responded uncomfortably.

“No I’m not.”  Riven declared as she rolled over in her sleep.

“How long were you pretending to be asleep!?”  Irelia yelled, “Better question, did you fake it to make Zed carry you?”

“Aren’t his biceps wonderful pillows?  Well, that is what I would say, IF HE’D EVER FREAKEN CARRY ME WHEN I FALL ASLEEP IN MY GARDEN’S TREE!”  Syndra raged.

“Wait, how did you end up falling asleep in a tree?” Irelia questioned.

Syndra nervously pushed her index fingers together, “Welllllllllll, I was meditating, but I meditated too good and accidentally ended up floating myself right into a tree.  After that I was too tired to get down, so I just stayed there for the night.  I was awoken by Zed laughing at me for sleeping in the tree.”

Irelia looked at Syndra bewildered, “How….did you manage to float into a tree?”

“I was meditating of course, silly.”

“How does meditating equal floating?”

“Doesn’t everyone float when they meditate?”

Riven sat up, and exchanged a glance with Irelia.  Then they both turned to Syndra and responded, “No.”

“Huh, really?  How boring.”  As she said this Syndra got a devious look in her eye, “Do you want to know what it’s like to float when you meditate?”  Syndra sat cross legged and started floating.   She patted her lap, “Come join me and find out!”

Irelia blushed profusely, while Riven crossed her arms and put one hand on her chin, as if she was contemplating the offer.

Seeing this Syndra added, “Sorry Riven, but this offer is for Irelia only.”

Irelia blushed some more, but Riven took no time in launching herself into Syndra’s lap, declaring, “Too bad!”

This caught Syndra off-guard and she lost her balance, sending both of them crashing to the ground.  When Syndra hit the ground, the mask in her hair fell out.  With the mask knocked away, the hair that was hidden underneath was freed and it draped down onto her shoulders.  As Syndra began to pick herself up, she looked up at Irelia and grinned.

Seeing this caused images from Irelia’s dream flooded back into her mind.

_ That smile…that hair…wait, does that mean that my dream actually meant something? _

“Wait, you have long hair?”  Irelia asked.

“Yep! I prefer it that way, besides it’s pretty hard to find someone willing to cut your hair when most of the country is terrified of you.  Anyway, enough about me,” Syndra leaned in towards Irelia, “why were those guys after you?”

Irelia leaned back slightly from Syndra, uncomfortable with Syndra’s closeness.  As she leaned back she lightly scratched her cheek,  _ how much should I tell her?  She did protect me, not that I couldn’t do it myself.  It was a government mission, but she was put in danger so I should give her some kind of explanation.  Well, sort of put in danger, she did single handedly take them all out. _  While Irelia was internally debating with herself, and Syndra blocking her view, she didn’t even notice that Riven had gotten up.

“Irelia?  What is Syndra talking about?”  Riven asked in a distinctly annoyed but questioning tone.

Irelia laughed nervously,  _ Right.  I totally forgot that she was asleep. _

Syndra leaned back from Irelia and diverted her attention to Riven.  Irelia sighed as she received her personal space back.

Syndra took a deep breath, “Well, Irelia and I were looking at some cute poros, then some men came up to us, called me you, and destroyed the poro stand!”  Syndra said quickly.

“Ugh…care to translate Irelia?  I didn’t quite catch that.”

Irelia sighed, and with a clear voice said, “We were at one of the market stalls browsing, and some men came up to us.  They seemed like they were a part of the group of mercenaries that we saw in Navori, somehow they knew my name and mistook Syndra for you.”

“What!  Why didn’t you tell me earlier!?”  As Riven said this she quickly inspected Irelia for any damage.

“Well, you were asleep so I forgot that you didn’t know…Besides Syndra dealt with them easily enough anyway.”

“What?”  Riven looked at Syndra, “Her?  She’s a twig, what could someone like her do?”

Syndra crossed her arms and huffed, “Does no one in Ionia know who I am?”

“Sorry, but I only know two people in this country.”  Riven turned to Irelia, “Anyway, we should try and track them down, and finish what we started.  I don’t like leaving a job incomplete.”

Irelia nodded, knowing that arguing with Riven would be pointless.  She also had to admit to herself that she wanted to properly complete their mission.  Failures were not something that Irelia would tolerate if she could do something about it.

Syndra looked between Irelia and Riven, slightly bored and confused, “Anyone care to explain to me what you guys are talking about?”

“We will explain later Syndra, I am going to go to the dungeon quarters.  If anyone survived they would be there. I don’t know how much information I will be able to get out of them though.”  Irelia added.

Riven crossed her arms, “Just interrogate them, getting information out of someone is easy if you give them enough incentive.”

“I’m not going to hurt them, we don’t do things the same way here the way you did them in Noxus.”  Irelia responded curtly.

Riven grinned, “Maybe you won’t, but if you let me take care of it I can get them to talk.”

“No!  I will not allow us to stoop down to their level, besides if word got out that we tortured someone, even a mercenary, it would be bad for our public image.  As a Noxian in Ionia you need all the help you can get to maintain a positive image.”  Irelia retorted.

“Fine, but we have no leads so I hope for both of our sakes that you can get something.”

This time is was Syndra’s turn to grin as she wrapped an arm around Irelia’s shoulder, “I think I can help you get the information,” Syndra’s voice took on a chipper tone, “and I promise that I won’t physically harm them at all!”

Riven’s face was filled with skepticism, “And what can you do?  No offence, but I don’t see why they would be scared enough of you to betray their allies.”

_ These two are going to kill one another eventually if I don’t stop them… _

Irelia chimed in, “Riven, can you get us some horses we can use for transportation?”

“Yeah, yeah.  If you don’t have a destination for us by the time we get back we are doing things my way though.”

Syndra took her arm off of Irelia and motioned towards the east, “We can use my floating fortress!  Or how about Zed’s shadow portals!?”

Riven and Irelia turned to Syndra confused.

Riven spoke up first, “What floating fortress?”

“And what shadow portals?”

“Yeah, I have my own fortress that I use my magic to float!”  Syndra floated up a bit in the air, “Kind of like me when I meditate, or when I don’t feel like walking.”  Syndra leaned in towards Irelia and Riven whispering, “Don’t tell Zed, but that is pretty much whenever he isn’t around.”

“Wait, what?  What do you mean shadow portals?  Is that how we got to the rooftop so quickly?”

“Yeah! Zed uses them all the time! I can’t believe he doesn’t want me floating! I’ve always thought that it was hypocritical of him since he uses them for EVERYTHING!   Something about keeping my leg muscles strong, but I think he is just jealous he can’t fly. ‘Oh look at me I’m the Master of the Shadows I can use Shadow Portals! But I can’t float or actually get anywhere on time when it’s important to Syndra!’”

Irelia put her hands up in a stopping gesture, “Wait, THAT Zed was the one that destroyed the Kinkou order?  The Master of Shadows Zed?  He seemed so…normal…Ish?”

Riven complained, “What, is he an evil baker?  All he talked about the whole time was cookies with this one stall vendor.  Something about Macadamias?  I was bored the entire time, he barely even gave me a passing glance, let alone try anything.”  Her tone changed to one of admiration, “Damn shame too…He had some nice biceps, and you’re right Syndra, they do make for some great pillows.”

“Why would he try anything?  He’s Zed, he doesn’t do anything fun, he’s all ‘Oh don’t do this it scares the general public, do you want another thousand guards coming to your fortress, Stop flinging my ninjas they don’t land well, or Ahhh put some clothes on!  I’m blind’” Syndra ranted. “Wait...do? That’s not fair! Why do you get to be carried and not me!”

Irelia looked at Syndra stupefied, “We are talking about the same Zed right?  He’s killed people you know, and brought chaos back to Ionia when we finally got peace again.  Wait, he’s seen you naked?”

“Really?  He didn’t do anything?  No glances, no ‘oh I accidentally tripped and conveniently fell into your boobs?’”  Riven inquired. “Also, technically he flung me over his shoulder like a sack of flour, BUT I still felt his pillowy biceps.”

“Wait?  That actually would work?  Hmm…interesting.”

As Syndra said this Irelia swore she saw Syndra give her a calculating glance.

“No walking in on you when you are changing?  Or when you conveniently just got out of the shower?”  Riven continued.

“Well he has walked in on me while I was changing, though he immediately dropped to the floor and curled into a ball and cried ‘My eyes!  My eyes!’”

Riven looked at Syndra blankly and shook her head, “That’s not a good indication that he likes you like that…”

Syndra had a face of shock, “What do you mean like me like that?”

“You know love?  Don’t you want a relationship with him or something like that?”

“Eww, no.  Why would I want him to love me?  Don’t get me wrong, he isn’t a bad guy, but I don’t like him any more than a friend.”

Upon hearing this Irelia felt a slight sense of relief.   _ Why does that make me feel relieved!  I don’t understand, I mean it’s good that she isn’t in love with a murderer.  Though she isn’t much better overall…I think? _

As Irelia was debating with herself internally, Riven kept talking, “So why do you let him see you naked?  Doesn’t that bother you?”

Syndra looked at Riven with an expression of genuine incomprehension, “Why would him seeing me naked bother me?”

A look of understanding dawned on Riven’s face, “Do you live alone?”

“Yeah! For most of my live actually!”  Syndra said more proudly than she probably should have.

Riven put a hand on Syndra’s shoulder, “When people live together, you learn about this thing called public decency.  People aren’t supposed to see someone of the opposite gender naked unless they are married, or at least in a relationship.”

“Why?  Wait, opposite gender you say?  What about same gender?”  Syndra asked quizzically.

“Because…you know…umm…Irelia?  Can you help me out?”  Irelia’s only response was her face turning beat red, “Well….guys and gals you know, have different….parts.”

“Yeah I know, I saw them in a textbook. I wasn’t impressed.”

“Well…when people are not related, it is embarrassing to see other people’s parts.  At least of the opposite gender, same gender tends to vary from person to person.”

“But my master wasn’t related to me, and he saw me.  Wait, same gender is okay you say…”  Syndra gave Irelia a quick, what she could only think of as predatory glance.

“SOMETIMES it’s okay! But only with the other person’s permission.”  At that Syndra seemed to slump, “But how old were you when you went to your master’s temple?”

Syndra seemed to think, “Um…probably around seven…ish?”

“Well there you go, he was probably helping you get dressed and take baths then.”

“So how does it make it okay since he wasn’t related to me?”

“Simple, he was acting as your father. He was a father figure to you right?”

Abruptly, Syndra decided to change the subject, “So what does this mean for Zed?”

“Well, judging by his overreaction, I’d say he views you as more of a little sister.  I had a friend, Katarina, in Noxus whose relationship with her adopted brother was fairly similar.  Except, instead of nonchalantly brushing off seeing her naked, like you did with Zed, Talon was met with a volley of daggers at even the possibility of him seeing her naked.”

“Now isn’t that a bit harsh?  I mean it seems more embarrassing for the guys, at least with how Zed acts.”

“Normal people don’t like others seeing them naked without permission, well not that Kat was normal.”  Riven finished affectionately.

“Huh. So does that mean that Zed is my big brother?” Syndra commented in an oddly soft tone. “Weird.” She deadpanned.

“I feel like we’ve really gotten off topic.” Interjected Irelia.

“Well we’ve got to set Syndra straight before any  mishaps happen.” replied Riven after giving her a pointed glance that clearly said,  _ Let me fix this. For your Sake. _

Nervously Irelia responded, “Ahaha… that is true, but still we only have so much time before the mercenaries are questioned by the guards, and they talk about a woman with magic who defeated them.”

“Okay! So how are we getting to the dungeon?” Syndra questioned.

_ Oh, right, how am I getting one of Ionia’s Most Wanted into the heavily guarded dungeon without getting her arrested? Or worse, without deciding to blow everything up in an attempt to ‘protect’ me? _

Irelia watches Syndra as she begins to pester Riven with more questions on public indecency, and whether or not she thinks that Zed really does see her as a little sister.

_ Speaking of sisters, if Syndra puts her hair back up, she and Riven could pass as each other. Wait… _

“Riven before you go, I need you to do me a favor.”

“Yeah, what is it?”

“Switch costumes with Syndra.”

“Yeah sure…wait WHAT!?”

 

* * *

 

Syndra followed Irelia as she led her towards the Placidium’s dungeon quarters.  Syndra was impressed with how clean the dungeon actually was, if Syndra didn’t know any better she would say that they were in a castle.  The lighting was actually pretty decent too, nothing like the dungeons that were described in most of her novels.   

Syndra huffed, “Why do I have to wear this frilly PINK outfit again?”

“Good job acting like Riven!  Keep it up and getting you into the dungeon will be easy.  Just try not to talk to the guards too much, if any of them actually know Riven than they may question your voice.”

“How did Riven fit into this anyway?  This fits me pretty well, and she is about a head taller than me.  It’s a good thing that I made my outfit with a lot of room for shoulders and legs, she probably would have been pushed out otherwise.”

“Yes, I’m expecting her to return home and change first.”  After finishing this, Irelia stopped and glanced around a corner before continuing, “Okay, we are getting close to the holding quarters that the mercenaries would most likely be held at.  Let me do all the talking, at least till we are alone with the prisoner.  Then you can work your magic.”

“Ha, a magic joke, no one ever does those around me…No I’m serious, you’re the first person.  I don’t talk to many people, even less that actually talk back without screaming.”

“Just…let me do the talking.  Just stand back and look disinterested, like Riven.”

“Zed says that me talking is why we never get to go to nice places.  And me blowing things up, BUT it is totally not my fault, they started it.”

“I’m not sure if Zed is the best or worst thing to happen to this country…at least regarding you.”

Syndra looked at Irelia confused, “What do you mean?”

“Oh look the guards, I am going to go talk to them, please stay here and look pretty.”  With that Irelia left Syndra to stay in the corridor.

“You think I’m pretty!?”  Syndra asked, but Irelia was already gone.   _ She thinks I’m pretty _ , Syndra thought to herself gratified.

After a few moments a guard walked by Syndra, “Oh, hi Riven, nice costume.  That outfit looks like something Duchess Karma would wear.  Anyway I would love to talk, but Captain Irelia has some important tasks for me.”  The guard said proudly, walking away without waiting for a response.

“That was rude, doesn’t anyone give Riven a chance to speak around here?”  Syndra mumbled to herself.

“Not really, Noxians are not exactly welcomed around here right now.”  Irelia said as she walked back around the corner.

Syndra jumped, surprised by Irelia.  Irelia made a motion for Syndra to follow her after Syndra recovered from her scare.  When Syndra rounded the corner she saw cells lining the walls.

“So, where’s the guys we are looking for?”  Syndra asked as she continued to follow Irelia.

“Thankfully, they are all close to each other on the left down here.  Unfortunately I wasn’t able to get the keys since I am technically off duty, so you will have to make do without entering the cell.”

Syndra shrugged her shoulders, “I wasn’t planning on going in there anyway.”

“That is probably the only reason I am letting you do this, if you were anyone else I would not allow this.”

A brilliant smile crossed Syndra’s face as she came up behind Irelia giving her a hug and putting her head over Irelia’s shoulder rubbing her face against hers, “So you’re saying I’m special!”

Syndra enjoyed the moment as Irelia was seemingly confused as to what was happening to her, before it was interrupted by a husky mocking voice.  “Now don’t you two make a cute couple?”

Syndra turned towards the voice after releasing Irelia from her grip, “You think so!”

Irelia turned towards Syndra, “Now is not the time. We need to focus on why we came here.”

“Hmph, I liked it better when you were blushing and confused.  You were cuter that way, not that you aren’t cute now, but if you want to be frowny and cute you have to pout like this.”  After saying this Syndra made a pouting face.

Irelia sighed, slightly blushing, “Can you please get the information from him?  I would prefer to not have you down here longer than necessary.”

_ She’s so sweet caring about my safety, alright Syndra lets make Irelia proud and get that information!  Wait, what information am I supposed to be getting again?  Ah, whatever, details. _

Syndra cracked her knuckles, _ Ow…. _ Syndra thought to herself.

“So you’re going to answer any of Irelia’s questions, otherwise you’ll answer to me!  Trust me, you don’t want to answer to me.”

“Please lady, you won’t believe the stuff I have had to go through this past week.  There’s nothing you can do that will top it.”

Syndra tapped her finger to her cheek, “I doubt that, I mean I’m part of the reason you’re here.  I kicked your butt out there pretty easily, and have no qualms about doing it again.”

Irelia leaned towards Syndra and whispered, “Remember Syndra, no property damage.”

Syndra whispered back, “I know that, but he doesn’t…Hey Irelia.”

“What?”

“Nuzzle, nuzzle.”  As Syndra said this she nuzzled Irelia’s nose and cheek with her own.

Syndra pulled away quickly, enjoying Irelia’s embarrassment, “Ah, this is a great night.  Alright about that information,” As Syndra said this she summoned a dozen dark spheres, willing them into the cell underneath the prisoner.  With a snap of her fingers the orbs popped the man into the air, consistently juggling him in a circular motion.

After a few minutes and dozens of screams from the prisoner, Irelia asked, “Aren’t you going to ask him any questions?”

Syndra hesitated before responding innocently, “I…actually don’t know what to ask him.”

Irelia pinched the bridge of her nose as she shook her head back and forth, “Alright, I’ll ask him, can you put him down for a moment?”

“Are you sure?  I was just about to get him into an alley oop?”

“What does that even mean?  Never mind, yes put him down, at least for now.”

Syndra called the spheres back to her after popping him up in the air one last time.  The prisoner landed with a thud and a groan.

“Why were you and your band after us at the festival tonight?”  Irelia questioned.

With a groan he responded, “We were summoned to a cave by a woman.  She offered us a hefty sum of gold if we could kill you two.”

Syndra thought to herself,  _ How blind are these people to keep confusing me for Riven? _

“Who is this woman?”

“We don’t know, all I know is that she’s backed by a very powerful man.  I didn’t ask too many questions.  If you want to survive in this line of work you do what you’re told, without asking too much.”

“How many more bands of mercenaries are out there?”

The man laughed, “You ever wonder why you never heard of Noxian ships sailing away after the war?  They didn’t want us back.  To them we were failures.  If anyone wanted back they had to swim and pray they didn’t get executed upon returning.”

“You mean the entire Noxian army is hidden throughout Ionia’s mountain ranges?”

“Just the grunts, at least those of us that survived.”

“Where are they hiding at?  How many are left?”

“Sorry lady, but that’s all I got.  I told you I don’t ask too many questions, I just do as I’m told.  How do you think I made it this far?”

The prisoner then fell silent, refusing to speak anymore.

Syndra turned to Irelia, “Want me to juggle him some more Irelia?”

“No, I don’t think we are getting anything more out of him.  Let’s head back to my house and regroup.”

Syndra started to follow Irelia out of the dungeon, as they were walking she heard Irelia mumble under her breath.

“I hope Riven had better luck than we did.”


	10. Sorrows of the Past

Irelia was walking back to her house with Syndra.  The festival was still going on. Irelia could hear the finale of the parade going in the distance.  She guessed that it was probably around midnight, which meant that the festival was coming to a close.  The street was still lit up, but all the vendors were gone and with them all the people.  At the end of The Harrowing every year everyone gathered in the middle of the Placidium to see fireworks.  Though, at the moment this wasn’t of much concern to Irelia, she couldn’t stop thinking about the mercenaries.

_ What is their motivation? _

“Irelia?”

_ Who is the woman that hired them?  Why does she want us dead? _

“Irelia?”

_ Where are they hiding at?  Sure he said they were in the mountains, but they cover thousands of miles.  Without a lead it could take us years to actually find them.  The neighboring provinces may have some information, though that is a gamble.   _ Irelia thought to herself.  Her mind was going a mile a minute with thousands of questions that had no answers to them.

Her concentration was broken when she felt someone shaking her shoulder.  When Irelia finally snapped back into reality, she realized that is was Syndra who was trying to get her attention.

“Irelia?”

“Huh?”  She asked, finally realizing that she had zoned out for the last ten or so minutes.

“Finally! I’ve been trying to get your attention for the last two minutes, but you’ve been staring into space the whole time.”

“Oh, I’m sorry.  What was it that you wanted?”

Syndra sighed, “I was trying to ask you if you wanted to watch the fireworks before we head back?”

“Hmm….I don’t know.”

“Aww….C’mon.  Why not?  What else would we do tonight?”

“We probably should get backed to Riven, see if she was able to reserve us some horses, and let her know what we learned.”

“Pfft, what is she your mother?  Do you have a curfew?”

Irelia unintentionally frowned slightly at the first part of Syndra’s statement, “No, but it is getting late.”

“Pleeeeeeeeease!  It will be pretty!  I mean, not as pretty as the Poros because they were just downright adorable, but they will still be good.”  Syndra said as she nuzzled up close to Irelia while they walked.

Irelia stiffened when Syndra made contact, _ what happened to my personal space!?? _

“W-w-we don’t want to worry Riven.”  Irelia said uncomfortably

“What, do you have a curfew or something?”  Syndra put her arms out questioningly

“What?  Of course not.”

“Well then come on!”

Irelia guessed that Syndra got tired of asking, because she grabbed Irelia’s arm and started dragging her away towards where the fireworks was going to be.  How Syndra knew where it was supposed to go off, Irelia didn’t know.  She assumed that Syndra had been to festivals before, which made Irelia ask herself:

_ How many other questionable people attend these festivals? _

* * *

 

Syndra dragged Irelia through the streets with her arms wrapped around Irelia’s arm, hugging it to her chest tightly.

_ Sheesh, I never thought it would be this hard to convince someone to go see some fireworks.  She’s lucky that she’s cute and I’m stubborn…   _ An image of Irelia’s awkward response to being touched appeared in her mind.   _ Gah, that face that she makes when I tease her is so adorable. _

Syndra looked up at Irelia, whose face was beet red.

_ She’s so cute when she’s embarrassed.  Is it bad that I get such satisfaction out of embarrassing her?  Hm….Nah, probably not. _

Irelia probably would have pulled her arm from Syndra if not for her grip.  She let it be loose enough to be comfortable, but tight enough so Irelia wouldn’t try to pull away.

“W-w-w-here are we going?”  Irelia stammered.

“Some place to go see the fireworks of course!”  Syndra responded cheerfully as she squeezed her arm again.  Irelia stiffened slightly, but then slowly let herself relax.

“Oooooh, getting cozy?”  Syndra asked as she looked up at Irelia.  While doing this she released one of her arms and traced her finger up and down Irelia’s bicep.

“No, though I am assuming you keep doing that to see me react.  So I decided not to give you the satisfaction of seeing my embarrassment.”  Though Irelia’s words sounded confident, her tone and expression told Syndra otherwise.

_ Hmm….playing hard to get?  Good, I’m just starting to have fun.  Now how can I up the ante?   _ Syndra grinned to herself as a thought crossed her mind.

Syndra moved the finger from Irelia’s arm up to her face, cupping her hand against Irelia’s cheek for a second before sliding her hand down to her chin bringing their faces closer to the point of where the tips of their noses were almost touching.  Syndra stared into Irelia’s jade eyes. Syndra was about to touch her nose to Irelia’s when they heard fireworks go off in the distance.

“Shoot!  The fireworks are starting we have to hurry!”  Syndra pulled away and grabbed Irelia by the wrist, actually breaking out in a full on sprint this time.  

After a minute or two of running they finally made it to their destination.  The building was tall and made mostly of dark stone bricks, it was simple like most of the structures in Ionia.  Syndra wasn’t sure that the building was used for even though she would visit it annually to watch the fireworks.  It also served the double purpose of being a rendezvous point for her and Zed.

“Well, we are here!”  Syndra said in between taking breaths, using her legs to help support herself.

When she looked up at Irelia was perfectly composed,  _ what does she do that she is in such great shape?  She doesn’t even appear to have broken a sweat! _

“I hope you weren’t planning on climbing that building.  Half the fireworks would be over by the time that we got up there.”  Irelia commented, looking to the top of the building.

“Just…give me a minute…to catch my breath…”

Irelia leaned over putting her hand on Syndra’s shoulder, “Are you going to be alright?”

“Yeah…I’m just…not used to running…”  After a few seconds, Syndra asked herself, “Why didn’t I float all the way here?”

After another minute, Syndra slowly forced herself to stand up straight.  She walked in front of Irelia and put Irelia’s arm around her shoulder.

“W-w-what are you doing?”  Irelia asked.

_ I love how she can keep her composer while being attacked and facing a jailed criminal, yet whenever I touch her she startles easier than a bunny. _

Syndra smirked as she started to float herself upwards, “Hold on tight!”

“Wait what?  What are you doing!?”

As soon as their feet left the ground Irelia squared off towards Syndra and tightened her grip.  She had one arm wrapping around Syndra shoulder down, and the other was coming up behind Syndra’s left arm and hooking onto her shoulder.  Irelia’s chin was laying on Syndra’s shoulder, she figured that from a distance it probably would look like an awkward hug.  Truthfully, Syndra easily could of levitated herself and Irelia up separately with ease, but since Syndra wasn’t done teasing Irelia yet she decided to keep that little tidbit to herself.  Syndra made sure to float up as slowly as she could without Irelia being suspicious, she wasn’t quite sure if it was because this was probably the closest contact that she would get willingly out of Irelia or if she just wanted to mess with her.  Either way Syndra was enjoying herself the whole way up, she made sure to use a bit of her magic to help make sure that Irelia wasn’t in danger of falling, though not enough that she would notice.

After a minute or two of floating, they finally made it to the top of the building.  At the same time, the opening set of fireworks was just finishing up.  Syndra slowly eased themselves onto the roof of the building, Irelia’s feet hitting the ground slightly before Syndra’s.  After a few seconds Syndra realized that Irelia had her eyes closed and didn’t realize that they had landed yet.  She pondered continuing to mess with Irelia again, but decided against it.

“Irelia?  We’re on the roof now, you can let go.”  Syndra gently pried Irelia’s arms off her shoulders.  As fun as it was to have Irelia cling to her, she had a strong grip that started to make her shoulder ache after a bit.

When Irelia realized what Syndra had said, she quickly let go and hid her hands behind her back, and apologized for holding on for so long.

Syndra raised an eyebrow and chuckled at her apology, “You think after all I’ve done to you tonight that I mind you clinging onto me?”  Syndra waved her arm and started to walk towards the front of the building, “Come on, the next set of fireworks is about to start.”  Syndra plopped herself down on the ledge, letting her feet dangle off the edge carefree.  Irelia, however, was a bit more cautious but nonetheless joined Syndra in dangling her legs off the side.  Syndra was surprised that Irelia ended up sitting so close to her, she wasn’t as close as a lover would be, yet she was slightly closer than people who are just friends would be.

_ Wait, did all that stuff I did earlier actually have an effect or am I just imaging things? _

Irelia slowly sat herself down next to Syndra, she wasn’t used to sitting on top of buildings, especially without her weapon nearby in case she needed it to catch her.  Shortly after Irelia got herself comfortable, the main set of fireworks started going off as Syndra predicted and the two of them sat in silence for a while enjoying the fireworks.  Syndra was the first one to break the silence between them.

“I don’t even remember what my parents look like.”  Syndra said somberly.

“What?  I’m sorry, but what brought this up?”  Confusion was embedded in Irelia’s voice.

“Earlier when I made the remark about Riven being your mother, you looked saddened by it…I figured that I hit a sensitive spot.”

When Irelia glanced over at Syndra she was staring at the fireworks still, but the cheerful expression she had on all night was replaced with a somber one. _  Whoa, she is serious.  Truthfully I don’t know much about her past…Every Ionian knows at least a bit about her, but there is nothing on her past. _  Irelia thought over next words carefully, she wanted to avoid unintentionally hitting a sore spot.

“What…happened to them?”

“I don’t know, I was taken from them when I was seven.”

* * *

 

_ It was a bright and sunny day, Syndra was outside playing games with her daddy as she did every Saturday.  Their house was wooden like a lot of her friends’ houses, but theirs was up on a cliff.  They were still close enough to town that they could walk, but far enough away to maintain their privacy.  Well, Syndra could walk there if she had Mommy or Daddy with her.  Last time Syndra went to town by herself, Daddy was scolded by Mommy for letting her go alone and then Daddy talked to Syndra about it.  Daddy told her that they were both grounded for a week, when Syndra asked why Daddy was grounded with her he said something about taking responsibility for your actions. _

_ Syndra had just finished playing hide and seek tag with Mommy and Daddy.  While she wasn’t a fan of the tag part of it, it put a big smile on her parent’s faces which was enough reason for Syndra to play.  Right now Mommy and Daddy were leaning up against an apple tree, and on each other, next to their small house.  They were watching Syndra practice her magic. She didn’t understand why they enjoyed watching her practice so much, nor did she care.  It put a smile on Mommy and Daddy’s face which was good enough for her. _

_ Syndra summoned three golden orbs in front of her that were a little bit bigger than her hand.  She put them out in front of her like a staircase and started to try and climb them one by one.  Her Mommy told her to be careful, but she kept going, putting one foot on the orb at a time and putting her arms out to maintain her balance.  It took her a bit but she was able to get up to the first and then the second, and after a bit of struggle she made it up to the third.  After reaching the third she cheered at her success, but this caused her to lose her balance and she fell, screaming towards the ground.  Syndra closed her eyes as she tensed up, waiting to hit the ground, when it never came she opened her eyes to see why.  All she saw was the sky and some clouds, when she turned to look towards the ground she saw her Daddy underneath her.  It wasn’t until now that she realized that his hands were wrapped protectively around her. _

_ Her Daddy grunted as he sat himself up with Syndra still in his arms, “Are you okay?” _

_ Though he wouldn’t admit it, Syndra knew he had hurt himself catching her.  Knowing this made Syndra sad, but she nodded anyway to answer his question. _

_ Her Daddy gave her a gentle squeeze and a kiss on the forehead, before saying, “Good.  Now today is my turn to make lunch, can you show Mommy some more of your magic while I cook?” _

_ Syndra nodded again. _

_ As her Daddy walked into the house, a man in bright flowing robes approached with two men lightly armored behind him.  The man in the robes was about the age of Syndra’s Mom-Mom, whereas the other men were about her Daddy’s age.  The older man’s robes were white, with a thick gold lining that reminded Syndra of the golden orbs that were now floating around her upper body.  This was where Syndra preferred to keep them whenever she could, but Mommy and Daddy only let her have them out at home. _

_ “Elder?  What brings you here to our simple home?” Her mommy said with quick, but deep bow. _

_ “I hear you have a daughter who,” When he noticed Syndra he kneeled down, “is quite the exceptional mage.” _

_ Syndra grabbed her Mommy’s pant leg and hid behind it. She wasn’t sure why but there was something about this man she didn’t like. _

_ “With all due respect, what my daughter does in her free time is none of your concern.” _

_ “Hmm…but it is.  You see I have great interest in people with her…talents.  We could use her for the good of Ionia.” _

_ Her Mommy waved her hand, “Not interested. My daughter is staying right here.” _

_ “But I insist.  You and your husband are talented individuals, and you have done great services for this country, but neither of you are mages.” _

_ “If we need any help, we will be sure to ask for it.  Now I would appreciate it if you left my family alone while we ate lunch.”  Syndra flinched at her Mommy’s tone. She had never heard her be so serious before.  Not even when she was scolding Syndra or mad at Daddy. _

_ Her Mommy picked Syndra up, and the warm tone she was used to returned as she asked, “Now let’s see what Daddy has prepared for lunch.”  Her Mommy started carrying her back towards their house. _

_ As they started to walk away one of the guards grabbed her mommy’s free wrist, “You don’t leave till the elder tells you that you can bitch!” _

_ Syndra watched as he Mom pulled her wrist in as she brought her leg up and hooked it onto the back of the man’s shoulder.  She felt like she was falling for a second as her mom leaned forward a bit and the man rolled forward and landed on the ground, flat on his back. _

_ “Don’t you dare use that language around my daughter!”  The scary tone had returned to her Mommy’s voice. _

_ Her Mommy didn’t notice, but the other man had moved to try and strike her. Syndra saw this and put her hands out as she screamed, “No!”  Syndra ended up sending out a golden pulse of magic that struck the man and sent him flying down the hill. _

_ She felt her Mommy straighten up again and turn towards the elder. “Now leave here, and never come back.  Do.  I.  Make.  Myself.  Clear?” _

_ With this, her Mommy carried Syndra backed into the house, where they ate lunch and the rest of the day past by uneventfully.  Life went by uneventfully during the next week for Syndra, at least until one morning she mysteriously woke up in the temple that would become her home for the next decade. _

Irelia put a comforting arm around Syndra, pulling her close, who generously accepted the comfort.  She remembered her father would do this to her when she was young and it always helped cheer her up.  Surprisingly Syndra didn’t try anything, no teasing, and no attempted embarrassingly close physical contact.  Normally Irelia would be bothered by this sort of closeness, but she was willing to make an exception for Syndra this time.  She didn’t know her that well, but Irelia could guess that Syndra didn’t open up to people often.

“So how did you end up in the temple?”  Irelia asked

“I…don’t actually know.  It is all very vague, the only thing I can gather is that I was probably kidnapped…”

_ Why would they kidnap her?  That seems very out of character for an elder to do… _  Syndra looked down at Syndra,  _ she isn’t lying though. No, her voice has too much pain in it for that.  That may explain why so little is documented of her past…but who would do such a thing? _

“Hey Irelia?”  Syndra asked in a low voice.

“Yeah”

“Can you….not tell anyone about this?  I…haven’t actually told anyone about my past before.”

“Not even Zed?”

* * *

 

Zed looked at himself in the mirror.  His hair was the color of onyx with a hint of gray.  While he wasn’t nearly old enough for his hair to gray naturally, at 28, the stress from his job brought on the premature graying.  His eyes were a deep red, and had scars covering a good portion of his body across his muscles.  He had just gotten out of the shower, and for some reason had decided to look at himself in the mirror.  With only a towel covering a small portion of his body, all his scars were in plain sight, staring back at him.  Each one held a different story, he traced a scar that lined his cheek, he wasn’t sure why but for some reason this caught his attention as memories flooded into his mind of that night a little over a decade ago.

_ Zed stood with a client as they explained what his job was. He was to kidnap a young female mage that lived with her parents.  Zed had recently been banished from the Kinkou order for looking at the box and using it to defeat Shen.  Personally he would have rather declined it since he felt the job was beneath him, but he desperately needed funds and the money was a lot for how simple the task was.  This aspect worried Zed a bit since it usually denoted that the client was withholding information, but he figured he could handle it.  If this was a normal job, he would have pressed the man about the lack of information, but since it was an Ionian Official he decided to hold his tongue. _

“If only I knew…”  Zed said to himself as the next part of the memory flooded into his brain, more quickly than he would have cared for.

_ Zed was in the room of the female mage he was supposed to kidnap, standing over her while she slept peacefully in her bed.  Zed cursed to himself mentally, the client didn’t tell him that the mage was only a child. Had he known that, he would have declined the job instantly regardless of the money.  He knew better than anyone how tough it was to grow up without parents. However, he was honor bound to complete the job.  Though that didn’t mean he wouldn’t have some choice words for the client when he was done.  Zed took out a powder from his pocket and sprinkled it lightly over the girls head. He was told that it would make sure that the girl wouldn’t wake up on his way to the temple he was supposed to drop the girl off at. _

**_Getting cold feet?_ ** _  A voice in his head asked.  He wasn’t sure where it came from, but recently a voice that wasn’t his own appeared in his mind.  It was…unsettling to say the least. _

_ As Zed leaned forward to pick up the girl from her bed an object flew across his face, cutting him along his cheek. _

_ Zed turned to see a woman standing in the doorway with shurikens in her hand. He could swear that he could see a thoroughly pissed off expression on her face through the darkness, but he wasn’t sure.  Both of them stood there, neither of them moving, uncertain of what the other would do if they did. _

_ “How did you know I was here?”  He asked the woman in the doorway. _

_ “Wasn’t that shuriken to the face enough?  Well if it wasn’t then it is because I used to be one of you, well before I retired.”  The tone of her voice was very pointed, though given the situation Zed couldn’t blame her. _

_ “Interesting…Well I don’t belong to the Kinkou order anymore.” _

_ “No matter, I would appreciate it if you would step away from my daughter.” _

_ “I cannot do that, I am contracted to acquire her for a client.” _

_ The tension in the air was thick as the two stared at each other.  Zed wasn’t quite sure how he was going to get out, if she truly was a former ninja like she claims then he wouldn’t be able to outrun her.  She had age on him so while he may be able to equal or surpass her in strength, he had to give her the benefit of the doubt that she was more skilled.  Though he did have two advantages, it made him sick thinking about it, but he was closer to the girl than she was.  Zed normally wouldn’t stoop so low, but this mission kept getting sketchier and sketchier. He needed to complete it before anything else turned up.  The second advantage he had was he had his equipment, whereas the woman was still in her night clothes equipped only with two more shurikens. _

_ As quickly as he could, Zed snatched up the little girl from the bed.  The woman in front of him cocked her arm like she was going to throw another shuriken but stopped when she realized her daughter was in danger. _

_ “Please…don’t do this.  Just put her down, I’ll let you leave like nothing happened and won’t tell anyone about tonight.”  Her voice now was pleading. _

_ Zed cursed to himself, the tone of the woman’s voice unsettling him internally.  He wished he could do as she said, go home and act like tonight was just a bad dream, unfortunately it was too late for that.  Zed took a deep breath, one more move and he would be able to get out. _

_ Zed quickly reached down, grabbed the bola on his belt, threw it at the woman and jumped out the window next to the girl’s bed before even looking to see if the bola landed.  As Zed ran off he heard a scream piece the night that chilled him to the bone, one that he would never be able to forget, nor forgive himself for causing.  Not only did he just steal that woman’s only child, but he was now going to put this little girl through growing up without her parents, just like he did.  No, worse than him, he never knew his parents so not having them was easier for him, she was going to have to deal with the loss of her parents as well.  Zed wasn’t sure how, but he swore to himself that not only would he never do this again, but that he would find a way to make it up to this girl. _

* * *

 

“Syndra.”  When Syndra didn’t respond, Irelia looked down at her only to find out that she had fallen asleep.  The fireworks had just ended and Irelia was going to say that they should get going.

_ Guess I’ll have to carry her back… _ Irelia thought to herself, she didn’t mind since Syndra was relatively light.  Until another thought crossed her mind,  _ how are we supposed to get down from here?   _ Irelia shook Syndra trying to wake her up, the only response she got was Syndra wrapping her arms tightly around her.  Irelia sighed to herself,  _ I’m going to have to carry her the whole way back aren’t I? _

It didn’t take Irelia long to get to the bottom of the building, luckily it was a public building so it was unlocked for the most part, and the parts that were locked had one way doors so that someone could exit without the janitors having to stay around all night waiting for people to leave.  As Irelia walked backed to her house carrying Syndra, she reflected on everything that had happened tonight.  If she had told herself that she would have met The Dark Sovereign a day ago, she probably wouldn’t have believed herself.  On top of that, that was carrying her back to her house and not into a prison cell.  Truthfully Irelia didn’t know why she never bothered to arrest Syndra, she certainly had enough crimes to justify it.  Though Irelia had a hard time thinking that the woman in her arms was the same Dark Sovereign that the government told every about.  Maybe it was Syndra helping her on two different occasions, maybe it was because she looked so much like the woman in her dreams. It could be that Irelia actually liked Syndra hitting on her, probably not, or something completely different that Irelia couldn’t comprehend yet.  Whatever the reason was it confused Irelia, but in a way that for some reason she didn’t mind.

As Irelia walked up the sidewalk to her house, a sense of relief filled her that she was finally going to be able to go to bed.  She wasn’t sure where she was going to put Syndra, she sure wasn’t going home tonight that was for sure, but for now she couldn’t wait to go inside and enjoy the coziness of her home.  Irelia fiddled with the door, upon opening it she almost dropped Syndra as she was greeted with almost everything inside of her house being obliterated into tiny pieces.

“What the…..what happened here?”  Irelia mumbled to herself, before another thought crossed her mind, “Riven!  Riven are you here!?”   
  



	11. Restless Night

As Irelia walked into her house she turned on one of the lights near the doorway to get a better view.  When the light shined on she saw most of her furniture was destroyed, like it had been smashed with a heavy object.  After closing the door behind her she put Syndra down in the entryway, whose response to the light was to merely curl further up into a ball and cover her eyes.  She glanced into her living room making sure that no one was in there.  When she didn’t see anyone she opened up a false floorboard and took out a box containing a tantō, glancing up every few seconds making sure that no one snuck up on her.

Irelia looked back at Syndra debating whether she should wake her up.  S _ omething tells me waking her up will cause more problems than it will solve… _  After an image of Syndra blowing a hole in her wall by the surprise of being woken up crossed her mind Irelia assured herself leaving her was the best course of action.

Irelia walked from the entryway into the living room and kitchen area.  The kitchen seemed mostly untouched aside from the table and chairs, but almost everything in the living room was destroyed.  Irelia quickly inspected the destruction, starting with the couch, moving to the coffee table, then the kitchen table.  All the destruction appeared to be from the same type of weapon, whatever the weapon was it was definitely large.  Irelia moved on from the living room and headed towards the bedrooms, skipping the training area outside since there was little to destruction in that direction.

As Irelia moved through her house she kept the knife in her left hand forward, and her other hand up across her body protecting her neck.  She didn’t think that there was much her hand alone could do to protect her neck against whatever was used destroy her living room; but it was a habit drilled into her long ago by her father.  It was hard to see as the only light source was the moon coming through the window and the light from the living room.

Irelia slowly strafed through the dark hallway. Her heart skipped a beat as she noticed a table near her father’s study was crumbled and the door to the study was smashed in.  She stepped around a broken plant pot as she opened up the door to her father’s study.  She peeked her head in, squinting her eyes to try and see.  Irelia was relieved when she saw that the only thing damaged in the room was the door.  

_ Thank the stars, Dad’s study is still intact.  That just raises more questions though…what happened here?  It couldn’t be a burglary, nothing is missing.  There is no blood, torn clothing, or sign of anyone exiting, so an attack is unlikely.  If not an attack, or robbery what options does that even leave? _

She continued down the hallway and up the stairs and around the corner to where the bedrooms were located.  Irelia closed her eyes as she turned on the second floor hallway light.  After her eyes adjusted to the new brightness she surveyed the hallway.  Zelos’ room and the bathroom on the right were still closed, same with her dad’s room directly in front of her.  The paintings of scenery on that side of the wall were all crooked, like someone had bumped into them.  On the left her room was closed as well, but the guest room that Riven had been stayed in was wide open.  The family pictures on the left side of the wall were all still upright and intact. Whatever had disturbed the other paintings clearly didn’t bother touching those.  She ran up tantō in hand and peered in, not sure what she would find.

Irelia gasped as she peered into the room, “Riven!”

Riven was in the corner of her room in her pajamas on her hands and knees as Irelia ran up to her.  Her arms were covered with dried blood, but that was her only physical injury.  However, she was drenched in sweat, her skin was pale, and she was breathing heavily, with her eyes wide open and her sword on the floor under her hand.

“They betrayed us…How could they abandon us like that…”  Riven mumbled

“What?  Who betrayed you?  Are you okay?”  Irelia asked as she put her hand on Riven’s head, “Oh my!  You’re burning up!  We have to get you to a hospital.”  She wrapped Riven’s arm around her shoulder so she could support Riven as she tried to walk her to the hospital.  They barely made it out of the room before Riven collapsed on the ground coughing, her hand switching between clutching her chest and throat.

“What happened to you…?”  Irelia asked rhetorically.

Irelia tried to pick her up again, but Riven barely budged.  She cursed to herself internally,  _ This is getting me nowhere fast…  There is no good options here… _

Irelia ran down the stairs and bolted out her front door, not even questioning leaving Syndra and Riven there by themselves.  She bolted down her driveway, through the streets, past the gardens, and the Placidium before finally making it to the hospital and bolting past the receptionist towards the doctor offices.

_ Where is her room again?   _ She thought as she ran through the doctors quarters;  _ 135, no, 137, no, 139, no, 141, ah ha! _

Irelia threw the door open, almost slamming it on accident and ran into the room.  When she got into the room she tried to speak but she was too tired from all the running to properly express herself.  Instead her hands ended up on her knees in order to keep herself from falling over.  The doctor wore a standard white coat with light blue scrubs underneath, which was much different than the yellow dress Irelia was used to seeing her in.  

The doctor in the corner of the room swiveled around to face her visitor, “Irelia?  What brings you here?”

Irelia tried to speak in-between panting for breathe, “Need…help…Riven’s…hurt”

“Wait, what?  How bad?  Never mind, let me grab some things and we can go.”  The doctor walked over to the far side of the room, grabbed a bag out of the closet and started filling it with various medical supplies.  After about a minute she had finished, “Alright, let’s go.”

Irelia merely nodded her head, still not fully recovered from her trip here, but too stubborn to ask that they wait a little bit before leaving.

 

* * *

 

Riven looked around, her head pounding, unsure where she was.  The area around her was dark, the only light sources that she could see were some faint torches.

“Hello?  Is anyone there?”  Riven called out to the darkness.

When no one answered she started to explore, after stumbling around for a few minutes she found a hallway.  It appeared to be made out a dark wood, much like the room that she woke up in.  She walked through twists and turns for a few minutes, exploring a few rooms on her way, hoping to find an exit or clue as to where she was.  Eventually she came to an open room that had a throne that was centered in the back of the room.  Sitting atop the throne was a figure obscured by the darkness, the figures clothing made it appear as if they devoid of any color except for some greys.

**_“Ah, the sleeping beauty is awake.  I’ve been expecting you.”_ ** The figure commented.

“Who are you?  Where am I?”  Riven questioned.

**_“Who I am and where we are aren’t important my dear, what’s important is the why.”_ **

“Which is?”

**_“Well…I understand that you have certain goals in mind.  Goals that are currently well out of your reach, I would like to help you achieve them.”_ **

“What do you know about me and my desires?”  Riven asked, slightly annoyed at the vagueness of the strange being.

**_“Hm…I know you are a Noxian in Ionia. I know that you want to take revenge on Noxus. And I know that you require more power to do so.”_ **

_ Hmm…Isn’t that what I told the Ionian officials my reasons for being here?  He did some research I will give him that. _

“Okay, I’ll humor you, how are you going to help me?”

**_The figure hummed, “Good, now we can get somewhere.  I have…magic you see and my…magic…will drastically increase your strength.  All you have to do--”_ **

Riven raised her hand, “Not interested.”  Even though Riven couldn’t see the figures face, she could tell by their body language that her statement surprised them.

**_“Now why is that?  You didn’t even let me finish.”_ **

“My goal is to rebuild Noxus back to its former glory, and I am going to do it with my own bare hands.  I don’t need your ‘magic’ to help me.”

**_“That’s a shame…and I was just beginning to like you too.  No matter, if you ever change your mind, my offer still stands.  Time runs short for us anyway, so you must be off.”_ **

With that the figure snapped their fingers, and suddenly everything around Riven grew dark once more.

 

* * *

 

“She’s up here!”  Irelia said as she rushed into her house, with the doctor closely behind her.

“By the stars, I can see why you were so worried.  This place is completely destroyed!”

Irelia sighed, “Yeah, I don’t need a reminder…”

The doctor apologized, following closely behind Irelia to the second floor.  When they got the second floor, Riven was still in the hallway where Irelia had left her.  Except instead of being on her hands and knees she was now laying on her back, halfway asleep.  

The doctor examined Riven’s arms and legs, “It doesn’t look too bad.  She probably has about a hundred splinters in her, but nothing too serious.  What happened to her?”

“Actually I am not sure.  I was hoping you would be able to tell me.  I examined everything downstairs, it looked as if it was done by one person.  When I tried to ask her she just mumbled.”

“Odd.”  The doctor responded, though it sounded like she was saying it more to herself than Irelia.  “I’m going to have to remove the bandages on her arms to get the splinters out, is that okay?”

“Yeah, let me help you.”  Irelia started trying to take the bandages off Riven’s left arm as the doctor worked on the right.  As she got the bandage loose enough that she could start unraveling it a thought crossed her mind,  _ now that I think about it, Riven always has these bandages on her arms.  I wonder why? _

Irelia gasped as she began taking the bandage off, the answer to her question staring her straight in the face.  Riven’s arms were completely scarred from something, what that something was Irelia didn’t know.  What she did know was that no normal weapon had caused it.  The scar covered the entirety of her arm from above her wrist up to a little below her shoulder.

“What…caused this?”  Irelia asked.

“I…don’t quite know.  They appear to be some sort of chemical burn. Where she got them I have no idea.”  The doctor responded, starting to clean the blood off of Riven’s arms.  Once she had finished that she began working on taking the splinters out of Riven’s arms.

The next few minutes went by uneventfully as the doctor slowly removed all the splinters, not moving on to a new spot of Riven’s body till she was sure that she got them all.  It took longer than Irelia cared to admit, but she noticed that Riven had woken.

“Riven, you woke up!”  Irelia said with a sense of relief.

Riven nodded her head.  Her face being a mixture of embarrassment, anger, and confusion.

“So…what happened?”  Irelia asked.

“Nothing….”  Riven responded.

“You are covered in blood, and have hundreds of splinters in your body!  I don’t call that nothing!”

“I…uh…don’t want to talk about it right now.”

Irelia glared at Riven, who shifted uncomfortably under her gaze, “My entire downstairs hallway, living room, and half my upstairs is demolished.  I think I deserve an explanation for that.”

Riven started to try and come up with an excuse, but Irelia kept glaring at her.  After a minute she sighed, giving into Irelia’s demand, “Remind me not to get on your bad side.”

 

* * *

 

_ “Commander!”  A soldier announced as he ran up to the tree Riven was sitting in. _

_ Riven jumped down from the tree and the soldier saluted her as she straightened herself.  Riven never got a chance to see trees when she was in the streets of Noxus growing, let alone climb them.  Every time she got a chance she would climb a tree and enjoy the view, not only for the tactical advantage of being able to survey the land, but also because it relaxed her. _

_ “What is it soldier?”  Riven said firmly, her arms behind her back and shoulders squared. _

_ The soldier extended a parchment out to Riven, “We just received this message from High Command.” _

_ Riven opened up the letter, glancing over what appeared to be her new orders.  Originally Fury Company was tasked with the eradication of Ionia’s temples and monasteries.  Noxus high command hoped that this would help force the Ionians into a surrender in defense of their culture.  They could not have been more wrong. Even though the Ionians were severely outnumbered, they still fought to the last breath with honor no matter the odds.  Riven respected that about the Ionians, they were warriors through and through.  Riven’s new orders for Fury Company was to clear out a pathway for the melters, Noxus’ new toy weapon from Zaun.  Truthfully, Riven hated the melters.  There was no honor in defeating your opponent when they cannot fight back. How was Noxus supposed to prove that they were stronger if they won through such underhanded means?  Riven was starting to question whether Noxus actually deserved to win this war.  If not for the melters, the Zaunite’s that had been hired, and the Ionians being so severely outnumbered they probably would have fought off Noxus months ago.  The melters were what bothered Riven the most, just being in the company of one made her feel sick, figuratively and literally.  This wasn’t the glorious combat that Riven had hoped and trained so long for, nor did she feel this method was truly Noxian. _

_ “Tell Fury Company we are moving out as of ten minutes ago!”  Riven barked.  One of the downfalls of being a commander was that she felt the need to keep herself emotional distant from her soldiers.  Not because she didn’t want to get to know them, but because she wanted them to fear and respect her. _

_ “Yes Ma’am!”  The soldier ran off towards the camp. _

_ Riven grabbed her armor, broadsword, and sword glove.  The broadsword and glove were gifts from Noxus when she earned her Commander rank.  Her weapon was infused with magic and the glove allowed someone like her, who had no affinity for magic, to access the swords magic. _

_ Riven waited a few minutes before making her way back to the main camp where her soldiers were waiting.  When she got there they were all lined in formation, prepared to march on her command. _

_ ‘Good’ Riven thought to herself. _

_ Riven marched at the head of fury company, some commanders stayed in the backline ordering their soldiers around from the safety of the backline.  Not Riven though, there was nowhere else that she would rather be than at the head of the company and in the thick of combat.  How could her men respect her if she wasn’t there by their side? _

_ As Fury Company marched through the Coeur Valley an eerie fog started to roll in.  Throughout the valley, barely visible underneath the fog, Riven noticed all the soldiers lying on the ground.  While looking at the uniforms as they passed by, Riven noticed a staggering amount of Ionian soldiers compared to Noxian.  This bothered Riven, the Ionians never lost this decisively.  She had heard that it was a surprise attack on the Ionians, but looking at the amount of bodies told a completely different story.  Things weren’t adding up for some reason. _

_ Riven’s concentration was interrupted by when she noticed a girl wondering in the mist, seemingly confused and distraught.  As Riven noticed the girl, she raised her sword signaling Fury Company to halt.  Then she pointed to two soldiers and motioned for them to get the girl.  While at first they seemed eager to obey, as they closed in on the girl they both slowed down, realizing that neither one of them wanted to take the lead.  When one of them finally made a move; the girl’s body language changed from distressed to anger as she screamed, unveiling a hidden dagger dropping both soldiers in front of her in one swift motion and running off into the mist.  The soldiers that appeared to be dead on the ground rising up again, very much alive. _

_ Riven cursed to herself as she finally realized why the report she received was incorrect, “AMBUSH!” _

_ ‘How long have they been lying there next to their allies?’  Riven thought to herself. _

_ “Standard defensive formation!”  Riven yelled, trying to get her troops to organize.  Her efforts were in vain though as her voice was drowned out by the sound of clashing metal and screams.  Every time Riven cut down a soldier, there was two more to take their place.  Her forces numbers were dwindling quickly in the chaos, with no end to the Ionians forces in sight.  Realizing that they were going to lose this battle, Riven drew her distress flare and fired it into the air.  The green light covering the sky above them, illuminating the battlefield. _

_ ‘I may die here, but I’m going to take as many of you with me as I can’ Riven thought. If it was her time to die then it was her time.  She would be bested by someone better than her, this fit into the Noxian ideals that ‘only the strong survive.’ _

_ Riven thought she could feel her end draw near as the number of allies around her dwindled, but she was mistaken when a ball of light came crashing down at the front of the battlefield.  The ball exploded, deafening and disorienting everyone on the battlefield.  A mysterious gas erupting from the ball, it took Riven only a second to figure out what had happened, and the answer was more than Riven could bear. _

_ ‘They opened fire…on us…their own soldiers.  What honor was there in winning this way?  They didn’t even get the glorious death from combat that all Noxians hoped for.’ _

_ Riven’s limbs and lungs burned as she ran out charged her way out of the battlefield.  Before she would have been disgusted with the idea of fleeing a battle, but now she didn’t know what to feel.  The only thing she knew was that was not the way that she wanted to die… _

 

* * *

 

“Shortly after that was when I shattered my sword...”  Riven finished.

“That is…horrible…how could they do that to you guys?  I know it was war….but to fire on their own soldiers like that seems low, even for Noxus.”  Irelia said emotionally.

Irelia felt Riven cast her a split second glare, then her face relaxed into a more understanding one.

The doctor shifted, convinced she had all of the splinters out.  “It sounds like you are dealing with PTSD, otherwise known as Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.  It is common in war veterans like yourself, the fact that you have kept it under wraps for so long is fairly impressive.”

Neither Irelia nor Riven needed an explanation for what PTSD was.  They both knew about it all too well, almost anyone involved with war had dealt with it, or at least known someone who has.  Irelia was impressed that up until now, Riven hadn’t shown any signs of it.

The doctor continued, “I’m guessing that it was the fireworks that brought it on?”

Riven glanced off to the side, but nodded her head.

“Come see me two days from now, you have dealt with it well until now but this isn’t going to go away.  I also may be able to give you something to help with your arms, I don’t know if the scars will go away, but it should help a little bit.”

“Thank you, I’m sorry for calling you here on such short notice.”  Irelia said as she gave a bow.

“Any time, just make sure that she gets to see me.  Okay?”

Irelia glanced back at Riven, “Don’t worry, I will.”

Riven looked off to the side again, “For such passive people, you Ionian’s sure are assertive.”

As Irelia walked down the stairs with the doctor, she noticed Riven going back into her bedroom.  As they walked downstairs towards the door, Syndra got up with a half asleep expression on her face.

Syndra rubbed her eyes trying to wake up as she walked towards Irelia, and when she saw the doctor she rubbed them even more.  “Irelia…?  Why is there a purple unicorn in your house?”  Syndra asked confused.

“Syndra!  Be nice, this is Soraka.  She is a highly respected healer here in Ionia!”

“It’s okay Irelia.”  Soraka responded before turning to Syndra uncomfortably, “Syndra, what are you doing here?!?”

“And who are you to me and why should I tell you?”  Syndra remarked, folding her arms.

“I’m sorry, I forgot you wouldn’t recognize me this way.”  The doctor responded with a worried smile.

“Whatever” Syndra huffed before changing her expression to a cute and cuddly one, “Irelia?  Can I sleep here tonight?  My fortress is soooo far away and it’s really late at night.”

“Yeah, sure.  Bedrooms are on the second floor.”  Irelia responded without thinking, her mind racing a mile a minute of how she would make this up to Soraka.  With that Syndra left without another word.

Irelia turned to Soraka bowing her head, “I’m so sorry!  I had no idea that she would say that!”  A few seconds later she mumbled to herself, “or that she would even be here for that matter.”

“It’s okay really.  I really must be off Irelia, I would love to stay and chat, but it is 3am and you are going to have a lot of cleaning up to do later.  Catch up soon?”  Soraka asked.

Irelia gave her a hug before seeing Soraka off, “Of course.”

Once Soraka had left and Irelia turned around seeing the destruction before her, had she finally realized the latter half of what Soraka had said.  Irelia sighed and made her way upstairs, too tired to start cleaning up now.  Irelia got her pajama’s on and crashed in her bed.  As Irelia was about to fall asleep she felt something move next to her, after a moment Irelia’s eyes shot wide open when she realized that Syndra was sleeping next to her.  Sighing, Irelia got out of her bed, went into the hall closet and grabbed a spare mattress that for some reason was in there, and laid it next to her bed.  After that she went back and grabbed some blankets, placing them on her side of the bed.  Then she pushed Syndra off the bed, throwing the blankets down onto her as she landed.  After that Irelia once again collapsed onto her bed, finally able to fall asleep. 


	12. A Day of Rest

ZzZzZzZzZz

Syndra rotated herself as she heard the sound of blankets moving near her, _too early…_ she thought to herself.  She didn’t know what time it was, but it sure wasn’t time for her to get up.  Soon afterwards there was the short sound of footsteps, after hearing this Syndra pulled her pillow around her ears.

_Why is someone moving?_

For a second or two there was silence, which allowed Syndra to relax for a moment, hoping that she would be able to fall back asleep.

“AAAHHHH!”  Syndra yelled as bright sunlight filled the room and she fell down towards the mattress on the floor beneath her, landing on her stomach.  “Ugh…”  she groaned as she turned on to her back and simultaneously tried to rub her eyes while she blocked out the suns piercing light.

Syndra heard more footsteps as they grew closer to her, “Why were you floating in your slept?” the voice asked.

Sitting up, Syndra tried to focus herself, though she failed as all the blood rushed from her head and instead she grew dizzy.  She sat there for a minute trying to collect herself, _where am I again?  That wasn’t Zed’s voice, it was a girl’s voice.  I don’t know any girls, do I?_   After Syndra’s eye’s finally adjusted to the sunlight she looked up to see who was standing in front of her.  _Oh right, I’m not at the fortress._ Syndra’s groaned again as some of the memories from last night flooded into her mind, when she finally could see it was Irelia that was standing over her looking down at her.

“It just happens sometimes, usually it isn’t a problem unless I get woken up.”  Syndra said as she finally sat herself up.

Irelia put her hand to her head in seeming disappointment, “So your body thinks your meditating is what you are telling me?”

Understand dawned on Syndra’s face, “Yes!” she said full of pride.

Irelia shook her head, “Sleep and meditation aren’t supposed to be THAT closely related.”

Syndra tapped her finger against her cheek as she spoke, “I don’t know… I’ve had some of my best naps while meditating.”

Irelia tilted her head slightly downward and put her hand on her forehead disappointingly, before turning to leave the room.  “I’m going to start breakfast, please don’t break anything.  You can borrow some of my clothes if you need to.”

With that Syndra was alone again, as she laid back down she was grateful that the bed next to her blocked the sunlight from hitting her face.  She stared up at the ceiling trying to remember everything that had happened last night.  _Why does my head hurt so much anyway?  It’s not like I had any alcohol, maybe I am just dehydrated, one thing is for sure I am tired._ Syndra chuckled to herself as she remembered defeating the mercenaries for Irelia and interrogating the mercenary prisoner, _dang I am awesome._   She was indifferent about the discussion with Riven and Irelia about her relationship with Zed, though the fireworks was a different story.  _Oh geez, why did I tell her about my parents…what was I thinking?  I only just met her yesterday and I tell her about things that I haven’t told anyone else about before._

After laying for a few minutes, Syndra decided that it was finally time to get up, as she started to leave the room she noticed a clock on wall.  _Who gets up at 8 am!  Especially when you were up till like 2am the previous night, do these people not appreciate sleep or something!?_ She made her way over to Irelia’s dresser and started to search through it for some clothes.  After unsuccessfully finding an outfit she wanted to wear, she made her way over to Irelia’s closet, hoping to find something a bit more her style.  After skimming through Irelia’s outfits Syndra finally found one that she enjoyed. It was different then what she was used to, yet somehow, it called to her. Her borrowed outfit consisted of skinny teal jeans, knee high brown boots, her costumes top without the armor, and a pretty cute aviator jacket that she was excited to ask Irelia where she got it. She decided to leave the jacket open so she wouldn’t feel constrained, and together the outfit created an odd yet pleasant mix of old and new.

Instead of heading directly downstairs she decided to explore the upstairs of Irelia’s house a bit, _Secret Ninja Syndra!  Secret Ninja Syndra!_   She went into what she assumed was Riven’s room first, given the appearance and decorations, but found nothing that interesting.  The next room that she went into was the master bedroom.  There was a good size bed in the middle for two people, a closet and dressers, the bland look of it kind of bored Syndra.  Though what she did find interesting was the fact that the room looked like it hadn’t been lived in for a few years, yet it was still kept relatively clean.  Syndra moved onto the other side of the hall, finding the bathroom first, and then another bedroom near the staircase.  It was very similar to Irelia’s room, though the bed was slightly smaller it was otherwise the same.  Though like the master bedroom it didn’t appear like anyone had inhabited it for a few years.  Syndra walked up to the dresser and ran her finger along it, _no dust,_ though upon looking at the furniture and knick-knacks scattered around the room, mostly weapons and nautical stuff, none of the objects look like they’ve been moved in a long time.  Syndra decided that it was time to head downstairs, the empty room kind of creeped her out.  Upon making her way downstairs she noticed Riven and Irelia talking.  Riven was sitting at the island that separated the dining room from the kitchen, and Irelia was cooking breakfast.

“Irelia!  Where did you get this jacket from, it is too cute!  Even if it is” Syndra shuddered at her next words, “yellow.”

Irelia looked at Syndra dumbfounded, she went to speak but no words came out of her mouth.  Riven turned towards Syndra for a second and looked back at Irelia, “And you were expecting something normal.  Ha!”

After a few moments she collected herself, “It was a gift, from a man that lives in Piltover.  There was a wealthy pilot over there that wanted to learn more advanced swordsmanship. As part of his gratitude he flew all of us out to Piltover and when we got there he said that he had the ‘cutest jacket that I must have.’  He picked that outfit out for me and made me try it on.  It was a little big back then, but it fits me just fine now, and apparently Syndra too.”

“Wait, was he trying to hit on you or something?”  Riven asked.

Irelia looked like she was reminiscing something for the second, “Noooo, after watching the training sessions and his eyes a bit, I don’t think that I was the one he was interested in…”

“Oh…”  Riven commented disappointed, until a moment later she understood what Irelia really meant, “Oh!”

“Yeah that almost ended up being a really awkward trip. Thankfully, the pilot was very professional.  Though I have no idea why a pilot wanted to learn sword fighting…”

“Awkward…”  Syndra said in a higher pitch than intended, “So where is your dad now?  Training someone else?”  Syndra was a few seconds too late to notice Riven waving her arms in front of her trying to get her to stop talking.

Irelia’s joyful expression drained after Syndra asked her question, “No…He passed away a few years ago due to a mysterious illness.”  Irelia paused for a second, forcing a smile back on her face, “Breakfast is done.”  Irelia said as she placed the food onto the countertop.  “I’m going to go freshen up a bit before breakfast, I’ll be back in a minute.”  With that Irelia had left the room.

_Ah crap…_   Syndra thought to herself as she walked over to a tall stool near the countertop and sat down.

Riven looked at her as she sat down, “I tried to warn you.”

“How was I supposed to know her dad passed away!?”  Syndra attempted to whisper.

“I’m not even from Ionia and I know about her dad!  Do you even know who she is?”  Riven replied.

Syndra smiled innocently, “I know her names Irelia and she has some connection to the guard?”

Riven sighed and spoke more to herself than to Syndra, “Well, at least we know you weren’t hitting on her because of her money.”

“Hey, I take offense to that!  I just happen to think that she looked pretty, and that we should…get to know each other better.  Besides it’s not like I get to socialize very much being the ‘Dark Sovereign’”

Ignoring Syndra, Riven continued to speak, “Well her father was Master Lito, a well-known swordsman that people around the world sought to learn from.  She also happens to be the Captain of the Guard around here.”

“That would explain why she lives in such a big house by herself…”  Syndra commented, _maybe Riven would know about the other empty room upstairs._ “Hey Riven, does she have a brother?”

Riven looked surprised at the question, “I, uh, don’t actually know.  Why do you ask?”

“Well, there is a third bedroom upstairs that has weapons and sea related items in it.  It looked like someone lived in it at some point, and it surely lacked a woman’s touch.”  Syndra explained as she started eat the small omelet in front of her, _mm that is pretty good._ She thought.

Riven followed suit in starting to eat her meal, though she went for her vegetables first.  “I did notice that. I’ve been here for about a week now and haven’t seen anyone other than us when since we’ve been here.  She hasn’t talked about her family much either now that I think about it, well not that I’ve done the same either.”

“So how did you know about her father?”  Syndra asked as she started eating her rice.

“As I said, he was world famous.  Even news of his death made it to Noxus.  There was even some there that mourned his death, even if it was from afar.”  Riven explained.

“I don’t know much about Noxus, but from what I do know I find that hard to believe.”

“Even though he wasn’t our ally, that doesn’t mean that we didn’t respect his strength.  He had proved to the world that he was worthy of his title.”  Riven defended.

Syndra and Riven turned as Irelia reentered the room, “I trust you two are getting along nicely?”  She asked with a smile.

“There she is!  And that cute smile is back to!”  Syndra commented, upon hearing it Irelia attempted to hide the blush on her cheeks.  _Teasing her is just too easy, and fun!_

Irelia walked over to the middle stool and sat down, her cheeks still slightly red.  “So today we have to fix this mess of a house, and Riven, tomorrow you have an appointment with Soraka.  Then after that we can leave like we originally planned to.  Syndra’s fortress is on the way so we can drop her off there.  Also at some point I would like to replace all this broken furniture.”

“Do I have to go?”  Riven asked.

Irelia didn’t speak but turned giving a look at Riven and then back towards her destroyed living room.  After that Riven went back to eating, not protesting.

_Yeeesh, glad that wasn’t my fault.  She seems like she could be scary when angry._

“Hey Irelia?  Can I help you on your journey?”

Irelia looked slightly surprised, “Um…if you want to you can?  Though I don’t know why you would want to, it is going to be dangerous.”

“Ooooh, sounds fun!  Beats sitting in a fortress alone all day doing nothing, just waiting for a ninja to come and inevitably interrupt me when I finally distract myself and be disappointed that they refuse to speak to me for some reason.”

Irelia responded uncertainly, “Sure then, but we are going to probably get approval from Karma first since this is SUPPOSED to be a mission for the Ionian government.”

_Bleh, meeting with government officials I’d rather stay at home.  Maybe I can convince her to go without me?_   Syndra looked around at the debris as a thought crossed her mind.

“How about this.  You go meet with this Karma person, and I will stay here with Riven and help clean the place up!  Though I still do want to stop at my fortress before we go onto our journey and drop off my costume.”

This plan seemed to delight Irelia, _does she really hate cleaning that badly?  Eh, I guess cleaning without magic is annoying.  This isn’t a blatant misuse of my powers is it…?  Hah, that’s a good one, caring about how I use my powers._

“Sounds like a plan!  I’ll head over there after I finish breakfast and then we can get some of the shopping done later!”

The next few minutes passed by quickly, mostly being spent with idle conversation between the three.  Once Irelia was finished with her food and had cleaned her plates, she left for Karma’s office as she promised.

“Out of curiosity, why would you choose cleaning this mess over going to talk to Karma?  I mean I don’t like talking to her that much either, but I would rather do that then clean all of this.” Riven motioned towards the living room.

Syndra got up and moved towards the living room, “Let’s just say that I really don’t like dealing with government figures, okay?”

“What about Irelia?  She is the Captain of the Guard and you have been flirting with every chance you get since last night.”  Riven countered, still sitting in her stool facing Syndra.

“She’s….different.  I obviously didn’t know who she was till you told me, even so she acts so…normal.  Besides, she’s cute and I want her, and Syndra gets what Syndra wants.”

“As long as everything stays consensual I’ll sit back and watch. Personally I think it’s funny seeing Irelia get flustered.  From what I have heard she could use someone in her life anyway. It sounds like she’s never been with someone romantically, so this might be good for her!  I know her subordinates would be happy if this made her ease up on them in training.”

“Consensa what now?”  Syndra asked legitimately confused.

Riven tilted her head down and shook disappointedly, “Don’t worry about it.  Just don’t make things awkward, okay?”

“Got it!”  Syndra replied with a smile.

“Is it bad that we are talking like you two are already dating and we haven’t even got Irelia’s opinion on the subject?”  Riven remarked more to herself than Syndra, “Anyway, what is your plan for cleaning all this stuff up?  I trust that you have a plan?”

Syndra waved her hand, “Of course I have a plan!”  Syndra used her magic to lift all of the debris in the living room up, from the tiny splinters to the broken couch and everything in between.  Once she was satisfied that she had everything in the air, she brought it all crashing together into a ball in front of her.  To finish it off she clenched her hand into a fist and a dark sphere summoned where the debris was, destroying it.

Riven looked at her, not as impressed as Syndra would have hoped her to be, “Not bad, I can see why you preferred the cleaning.  I wish I could do that.  That would have saved me so much time in basic.”

* * *

 

 

Irelia made her way towards Karma’s office in the Placidium. It was about 9:30 AM when she left so she wasn’t too worried about Karma not being at her office.  She was actually relieved that she got out of having to clean the mess up inn her house, going to talk to Karma would be so much easier.

_All I have to do is convince her to let Syndra… ah crud._   Irelia hadn’t even thought about the fact that Syndra was the ‘Dark Sovereign’ when she agreed to let her come with Riven and her.  She had forgotten on more than one occasion Syndra’s true identity, _she doesn’t seem anything like the ‘Dark Sovereign’ that is usually described to the public._   The rest of Irelia’s walk towards Karma’s office was filled with her attempting to come up with reasons for Karma to approve of Syndra traveling with Riven and her.

_Hey Karma, I know the Dark Sovereign has caused us a lot of grief in the past, but you should let her come with Riven and I on our mission.  She… No, that isn’t going to work._ Irelia arrived at Karma’s office and she still had yet to come up with a convincing reason that letting Syndra travel with Riven and her was a good idea.

_Well…here goes nothing._   Irelia thought as she knocked on Karma’s office door.

“Come in.”

Irelia held her breath as she entered the room.  _Please be in a good mood._

“Ah, hello Irelia.  What do I owe the pleasure of your visit here today?”

“I am here with an…unusual request.  How much of last night’s disturbance did you hear about?”

“I heard about some ruffians trying to attack one of our citizens.  I’m not sure of the details though.”

Irelia nervously chuckled, “Well…about that…I may have some more information that you should know about.”

“Irelia, what should I know?  You seem very nervous, and not quite yourself.”  She asked concerned

“They weren’t ‘ruffians’ they were mercenaries, and the person that they attacked was a new friend that I was with.”

“Oh my, are you two okay!”  Karma responded shocked.

“We are fine, my new friend took care of them.  I left my swords at home as per regulations.  If not for my new friend, things might not have gone so smoothly.”

“Protecting the Captain of the Guard is impressive, are you sure that you aren’t exaggerating a bit?”  Karma asked, from the tone Irelia thought that she may have misunderstood the relationship between her and her ‘new friend’.

Irelia responded frankly, “I wish I was, truthfully they pissed my friend off and they told me to stand back and took care of everything by themselves.”

“So they are the heroic type?  I am starting to like the sound of them.  I appreciate the information, but I assume that telling me about your new friend is not why you are here so early in the morning.”

“Riven and I would like to go after the remaining mercenaries…”

“Of course, just make sure you have enough people.”  Karma interrupted.

Irelia continued, “And my new friend would like to come along with us as well.”

Karma looked at Irelia skeptically, “If they are okay with it and can take care of themselves I don’t see too much of a problem.  I mean going on a long journey with someone you barely know is a bit odd, but I will not deny you.  I just need their name for the official paperwork so they can move freely throughout the country as a temporary government official.”

“I’m not quite sure on the last name, but her first name is…Syndra.”

Karma laughed for a second, “That is a good one Irelia.  You aren’t going to tell me that the Captain of the Guard was not only rescued by the Dark Sovereign, but now the Dark Sovereign actually wants to try and help us.”

Irelia merely smiled at her nervously.

Karma’s expression turned grave, “Wait, you are actually being serious aren’t you.”

“Yes.”

“I don’t think that I can approve of this Irelia.  She has done some horrific things to the citizens of this country.”

“And if she is with me she won’t be able to do anything like that.”

Karma looked at her like she was insane, “You think that you can control the Dark Sovereign?”

“I wouldn’t go as far as control, but I have some sway with her.  She tends to listen to Riven and I!”

“How do we know Syndra isn’t working with the mercenaries?”  Karma questioned.

Irelia responded, “I wouldn’t call Syndra a team player.”

“How do we know that she won’t try to hurt you and Riven!?”

Irelia blushed a bit, “Well, she may-“

Karma raised her hand interrupting Irelia after seeing her face, “Forget it, I don’t want to know the answer to that last question.”

Karma sighed before continuing, “Look, since it does not look like I will be able to convince you this is a terrible idea.  I will approve of this on one condition; Captain Lito, your orders are to preform reconnaissance on the Dark Sovereign. During this mission you will give me a report on her daily activities and any perceived weaknesses that she may have. You will not inform anyone of this mission and send these reports via outpost messengers. Are your orders clear, Captain Lito?”

Irelia felt like she had been slapped, “That’s not fair!  She is volunteering to help us, and it is not fair to her to invade her privacy like this!”

“Are your orders clear Captain Lito?  Or are we going to have to send the guards to your house to capture her?”

“Yes ma’am.” Irelia responded through gritted teeth.

“Very well, you are dismissed.  I will be expecting a report on my desk tomorrow for today’s events.”

Irelia turned on her heel and started to march out of the room.

Before Irelia could reach the door Karma spoke again, “And Irelia, I hope that you know what you are doing.”

As Irelia slammed the door behind her she thought to herself, _I know what I’m doing, I only hope you do as well._


	13. Awkward Encounters

It had been about an hour and a half since Irelia had left, Riven and Syndra had quickly become bored.  

Riven turned towards Syndra, who was lying on a carpeted portion of the floor staring up at the ceiling.  “Hey Syndra?”

“Yeah?”  She responded bored, not even bothering to move to look at Riven.

“What are you planning on doing for clothes when we leave?  I don’t think Irelia is going to let you borrow her wardrobe while we’re gone.”   
Syndra turned her head towards Riven, slightly confused at the nature of the question, “Well I was planning on stopping at my fortress to get clothing.  Why?”

“You have clothes that you are willing to get dirty?  Let alone take on an outdoor trip?”  Riven questioned.

“Of course I…”  Syndra paused for a few seconds, thinking about her wardrobe.

“I’m just going to put it out there that miniskirts, and low cut shirts aren’t good for camping.”

“Ah, crud.  We’re going to need to go shopping.”  She said, begrudging admitting defeat.  “Where would we even get clothes for camping around here anyway?”

Riven shrugged her shoulders, “Shopping isn’t really my thing, maybe we should ask Ire---”

Before Riven could even finish, Irelia barged back into her house, clearly pissed at something, which caused Syndra to sit up.  She walked by Syndra and Riven, barely stopping to tell them that Syndra could go on the trip, before saying that she was going to be in the training room.  She kept an even voice the whole time, even managing to put on a fake smile for a few seconds before leaving.  However, Syndra and Riven could tell that she was pissed by her body language, Syndra hadn’t known Irelia long but she could guess that Irelia wasn’t very at hiding her emotions.  Once Irelia was gone, Syndra and Riven looked at each other confused, neither having the answer to the question that was on her mind.

“Glad I didn’t go.”  Syndra commented.

Riven turned to look towards the door to the training room, which was near the kitchen, on the opposite side of the house as the bedrooms and study.  “I wonder what she is so pissed about, I haven’t seen her that ticked before.  Especially after seeing Karma, usually she’s cheerful when she gets back.”

After a few moments of silence went by, Syndra and Riven could hear the sound of target dummy being struck, hard.  Syndra didn’t have a clue as to how Irelia was striking the dummies, but could tell that Irelia was hitting it brutally.  She could hear the sound of a chain rattling almost in sync with Irelia’s strikes.

“What is that rattling noise?”  Syndra finally asked.

“That would be the chain holding up the heavy bag, and by the sound of it she is hitting it pretty hard.”  Riven commented.

A few more moments went by where the only sound that Syndra heard was the striking on the heavy bag, according to Riven, and the rattling of the chain holding it up.  Syndra broke the silence once again asking, “Should we check up on her or something?”

“I don’t wanna go in there!  It’s much safer out here!”  Riven exclaimed.  When the noise continued even longer, Riven caved.  “Fine.  If something bad happens though, I’m blaming it on you.”

Syndra and Riven both slowly approached the door to the training room, opening the door slightly peering their heads through slightly.  When they looked in they saw the heavy bag flying across the room, only to be yanked back by its chain towards Irelia who sent it flying again with a flurry of kicks and punches.  The room was much bigger than Syndra had expected from the outside, in the back where Irelia was currently at, there was two heavy bags hanging from the ceiling.  On the right side of the room there was some practice dummies with a weapons rack behind it, and on the left side of the room there was some other training equipment that Syndra didn’t recognize.  While Syndra was examining the room she didn’t realize that Irelia had stopped hitting the heavy bag and moved over towards the dummies.

“Wait, when did she get her sword?”  Syndra asked.

“Honestly, I stopped asking myself that question a while ago.  It seems to have a mind of its own sometimes.  Especially when s—” Riven cut herself off when she noticed that Irelia had beheaded the dummy.

Syndra and Riven looked at one another, thinking the same thing.   _ Let’s leave her alone for a few hours. _

With that the two of them left Irelia alone in the training area, neither one of them wanting to be the one that interrupted her.  It would be another few hours before Irelia would emerge from the room.

 

* * *

 

Irelia wasn’t sure how much time had passed since she went into the training room.  As she exited the training room she had to cover her eyes as the afternoon sunlight shined through the windows brightly into her living room, at least what was left of it.  The kitchen and the island connecting it to the living room was still intact, but most everything else in the living room was gone now.

_ It is almost scary how good of a job they did cleaning it up. _  Irelia thought to herself.  After a minute Irelia realized that she hasn’t seen either of them since this morning.  Irelia was going to start looking for them, but her sweat stained clothes reminded her that she had other things she should attend to first.  Though as she made her way to her shower on the second floor she couldn’t wonder where Syndra and Riven had made their way off to.  As she walked by her father’s study, one of the stands outside his room caught her attention.  For some reason she decided to open the single drawer that it had, and inside was something that hadn’t seen in years.  She reached her hand inside and pulled the object out, it was a ship in a bottle that belonged to her brother Zelos.

_ He always did like his ships. _  She thought to herself, as memories from her childhood came to the forefront of her mind.  As she stared at it she noticed something that she never paid any attention to before.  On the ship there was a full model crew, all at their ready positions, and there was a scuba diver off to the side on the bottom of the bottle.

When she got upstairs she double checked the rooms to make sure that they weren’t in them for some reason, her house didn’t have much to do in private so she wasn’t surprised to find them empty.  Pushing them out of her mind, she walked into the bathroom, preparing for a much needed and relaxing bath.

As she went into the bathroom she closed the door behind her, and drew a warm bath.  As Irelia undressed she let out a sigh of relief to herself as she removed her sweat covered clothing and threw it to the side.  Once she was completely undressed she looked at her reflection in the mirror above the sink across from the bathtub.  Exhaustion was written all over her face, from multiple things.  Lack of sleep from the night before, most likely a bit of dehydration out of a combination of her workout and not eating or drinking for a few hours, stress from her job which she had a temporary break from.  Her skill and expertise made her a candidate for government missions.  During those times she would get a break from her normal job as the captain of the guard.  

Irelia turned the bath off as it filled towards the top, she got out and lit some aroma therapy candles that she had in her bathroom for the few times that she did take a bath.  The last thing she did before she was ready to get in was add some lavender oil to the bath to help relax herself.  Irelia slowly got into the bath, letting herself get used to the waters warm temperature.  She let out a sigh of relief as the warm water washed up her stomach to her chest and finally to her shoulders as she laid herself back.

As Irelia stared up at the ceiling enjoying the aroma and relaxing, she thought how she was surprised yet grateful that her time in the training room had went uninterrupted.  She didn’t feel like trying to come up with an excuse for why she was angry. Truthfully if they asked her now she still wouldn’t be able to give them an answer.  Spying on someone didn’t seem right to her, she was always taught to be humble and trust others.  The whole thing seemed too sneaky, and she personally felt like she was violating Syndra’s trust by reporting on her without her permission.  Irelia sunk down into the bath until her mouth was under the bubbles.

_ Well, so much for relaxing. _  Irelia thought to herself.  Irelia tried to push the thoughts out of her mind, trying to let her mind wander off to other matters.

 

Irelia shook her head, looking around realizing that she was still in the bathtub, not realizing that she had started to day dream.   _ How long was I out for? _  She wondered.

Downstairs she could hear what sounded like a door opening and footsteps,  _ I guess Riven and Syndra are back from wherever they were. _  A little bit later she heard them making their way towards the stairs, this was confirmed when she heard their muffled voices through the walls.  As Irelia moved her arms through the once warm water she thought,  _ I probably should get out. _

With that Irelia stood up from the bathtub, stretching her limbs out, and that was when she heard it.

“---in the bathroom real quick.”  Came Syndra’s voice.

Almost at the same time came Riven’s voice, “Syndra, No!”  A nervous look on her face.

The next few moments were awkward as Irelia stood there naked staring at Syndra and Riven.  Syndra’s expression was a look of surprised, followed by another that she wasn’t sure if it was satisfication or seductive.

Irelia quickly grabbed a towel covering herself, embarrassed and annoyed.

“Have you ever heard of not opening a closed door!?  Or at least knocking!?  Now can you get out?””  Irelia yelled.

Syndra shrugged her shoulders, “What is the matter?  We are all girls here, it’s not like it isn’t anything we haven’t seen.”

“So?  I would still appreciate my privacy.  Now please, get out now!”

“Aww c’mon Irelia, don’t be like.  You have a nice --”

“NOW!”  Irelia said as she picked up one of the bottles next to the tub and threw it at Syndra.  Irelia wasn’t really aiming when she was throwing, but still caught Syndra in the forehead causing her to fall back.

Riven caught Syndra from behind as she fell backwards in a daze, and closed the door as she drug Syndra towards the stairs.

 

* * *

 

Syndra groaned as she sat up.  She was on a makeshift bed on the floor of Irelia’s living room, there was a pillow where her head was, and a blanket and mattress underneath her.

_ Why does my head hurt so much? _  She thought to herself.

She put a hand to her head, wincing as she touched her forehead.  As she touched it, she had a flashback of her walking in on Irelia in the bathtub.

“So, why did you walk in on her again?”  Riven asked while sitting on a chair who turned to stare down at Syndra as she sat up.

“I didn’t know she was in there.”  Syndra defended, her forehead still in a dull pain.

Riven stared at her blankly, “The door was closed…you know usually a sign that people are in a room doing something private?”

“Hey, you try living alone for a few years and see how well you remember social customs.”

“Okay, why didn’t you close the door when Irelia asked?”

A sly grin made its way across Syndra’s face, “Well…”

“Forget it!  Sorry I asked.”  Riven interrupted, raising her hand to stop her.

 

* * *

 

_ Nothing eventful has happened over the last few days.  The Dark Sovereign hasn’t tried to do anything malicious.  She doesn’t show it too often, but she has a high level of academic intelligence, though she lacks knowledge and understanding of most social customs.  From what I can gather The Dark Sovereign and The Master of Shadows have a strained relationship.  The Dark Sovereign will try to order the Master of Shadows around, which occasionally is successful.  They seem to flock to one another out of more respect for one another’s power and out of social necessity to speak to an equal than actually plotting anything.  When they argue they quarrel more like siblings rather than lovers.  It is highly unlikely that they are romantically involved.  In the few instances that has been described to me about them, neither one of them seems to have any desire for one another.  When we have been out, Syndra’s attention is more focused on the women of the Placidium than the men.  We are will be heading out on our trip tomorrow so my future letters may take longer to arrive.  We will be stopping at The Dark Sovereigns fortress first, then we will make our way to the mountains where we will try to locate the remaining mercenary camps. _

__        -Captain Lito _ _

 

Irelia signed the letter as she finished writing it, rolled it up, and put it inside the nightstand next to her bed.  Irelia found out that she disliked having to report to everything that Syndra and she were doing more than she thought she would.  Even if her letters were short she had to give Karma something, even if a lot of the information was old news.  As she pulled the covers up to her shoulder and turned onto her side she caught a glimpse of Syndra’s sleeping form below her bed.  When Irelia had told Syndra that she could continue to sleep next to her she seemed happy, but she seemed a bit disappointed for some reason when Irelia told her she had to sleep on the mattress below her bed.  Whenever Irelia would look at Syndra after she had to report on the day’s events, a feeling of guilt would build up inside her.  She thought that reporting would get easier as time went on, but while the writing itself got easier, the uneasiness that she got whenever she saw Syndra afterwards didn’t get any better.

Irelia rolled onto her back staring up at the ceiling.   _ What am I going to do if I actually learn something about Syndra that I have to report?  I’m only reporting on minor things and I already feel bad. _

Sleepiness overtook Irelia before she came up with an answer to her question, though it was a question that she had been asking herself for a few days now.

 

* * *

 

Waking up went as well for Syndra as it did every other day.  She would be awaken by Irelia getting up at some sort of inhuman hour of the morning, followed by her tossing and turning trying to fall back asleep but only being met with limited success.  Irelia tried her best not to wake Syndra up, but there wasn’t much that she would do about the wooden floors that would creek underneath her footsteps.  She wasn’t sure how, but Syndra had stopped herself from floating up into the air in the middle of the night.  At least for the most part, there was a few times where she found herself in Irelia’s bed with a pillow between the two of them.  Though Syndra was proud to admit that she only woke up falling onto her bed once in the last few days.

Syndra yawned as she stretched her arms out, still not having an answer as to why anyone would be up at these ungodly hours that Irelia and Riven seemed to always wake up at.  Syndra looked at the clock,  _ 8:00 am _ , which meant that Irelia and Riven had been up for at least an hour and a half by now, if not more.

_ Do these people ever sleep?   _ She thought when she realized that all three of them had gone to bed at around the same time.

Syndra shuttered as a familiar chill shot up her spine, one that she hadn’t felt since she had been staying at Irelia’s.

“Does anyone in this country believe in a good night’s sleep?”  Syndra commented.

**_“Aww….did someone not get their beauty sleep?”_ ** The shadow that had manifested into existence in front of Syndra commented, sarcastic as ever.

“What do you want?  I’m not awake enough to deal with your sarcasm.”  Syndra’s voice laced with impatience.

**_“Oh, I thought you loved my sarcasm.  I just wanted to check up on you, I haven’t seen you in quite a few days.”_ ** The sarcasm even more present then before.

“I don’t owe you any explanations as to what I have been doing.”  By this point Syndra knew that whenever the shadow tried to pry at information, there was never a good reason behind it, “Besides can’t you just ask Zed?  I doubt that he hasn’t been keeping tabs on me.  It isn’t like him to not know what is going on.”

**_“Awe, I’m hurt.  First Zed and now you.  Zeddie been blocking me out lately and refuses to tell me what you are up to, or even who, if anyone, he has spying on you.”_ **

Syndra raised an eyebrow, “You act as if Zed blocking you out is anything new.  Why are you really here anyway?  I doubt that your only reason for visiting me is to find out what I have been doing for the past week.”

**_“I’m here to tell that you shouldn’t trust that captain of the guard you seem to spend all of your time around with.”_ **

Syndra gaze turned into a glare as she spoke, “I’m not in the mood for your games shadow.”

**_The shadow merely wagged his finger, “No games this time.  That little gal pal of yours is reporting on you to the elders, the same people that stuffed you into that fortress all those years ago.”_ **

The shadow disappeared as Syndra willed a dark sphere into existence right where he was standing as he finished.  Syndra almost destroyed the door to Irelia’s closet and one of her bed posts in the process.

“Don’t mess with me shadow.”  Syndra said tersely.

Without manifesting itself this time, the shadow spoke,  **_“Oh, did I hit a sore spot?  Let’s just say I have my sources.”_ ** On that note the shadow let out that laugh that annoyed Syndra so much, before she felt its presence leave.

Syndra dismissed the shadows comment about Irelia, feeling that Irelia was far too honorable to do something like that.  Though Zed keeping information about her secret from the shadow seemed odd to Syndra, and the fact that the shadow knew about Irelia bothered Syndra.   _ How would he know of Irelia if Zed was withholding information from him? _  Something didn’t add up, obviously he could be lying to Syndra.  Though why would he lie, and then contradict himself a few moments later.

Her train of thought was interrupted when she heard someone walking up the stairs, a few seconds later Riven peered her head through the open door to Irelia’s room.

“Irelia’s almost done cooking breakfast.”  Riven commented before heading back downstairs.

After going through her normal morning routine of making herself look semi-presentable, she made her way downstairs to join Irelia and Riven for breakfast.  Over the last few days Syndra had been helping Irelia redecorate the first floor of her house.  Syndra found that as long as she stayed away from things that had to deal with Irelia’s family, she was surprisingly receptive to her ideas.  Truthfully the last few days had been fun and surprisingly normal for Syndra.  She helped Irelia pick out new furniture for her house, which Irelia was grateful for since most of Riven’s suggestions weren’t as well received.  Riven’s furniture choices really showed her Noxian side, choosing mostly dark colors and shades of reds.  Syndra had to admit that some of the suggestions were pretty good, like the set of dishes that she found, others like the furniture set not so much.  The day after that Irelia and Syndra went out together to get some outdoor clothes for the trip that she could wear.  Irelia tried to get Riven to come along with them, but she promptly refused.  She stated something about her ending up carrying all the clothes, Syndra couldn’t remember exactly what she said that.  Riven had even gone to her therapy session with Soraka, though she refused to comment on anything that she had talked about that day.  Though Irelia wanted to know, she didn’t pressure Riven too much about it.

As Syndra sat down at the table with Irelia and Riven, the two of them were discussing the trip that they were going on later that day.

“After breakfast we will get ready to leave to grab the horses, then we can be off to Syndra’s fortress first.”  Irelia commented.

“All of our supplies, and clothes, are packed already right?”  Riven asked.

“Yeah, I packed those last night, though we may have to make a few stops along the way for food and water.”

After that Irelia and Riven started plotting out a route for them to take along their journey with a map that was in the middle of the table.  Around this point was when Syndra got bored of the conversation and started to zone out as she was eating.  She understood everything that they were talking about, and knew all of the routes and cities they spoke of.  Knowing important locations, and the roads less traveled helped Syndra out when she was traveling and didn’t feel like dealing with people.  That doesn’t mean that she found any of it interesting however, for her it was just a means to an end.

After what felt like an eternity to Syndra, Irelia and Riven had finally finished their breakfasts and agreed upon a route that they could take through the mountains.  With that they finished double checking to make sure that they had everything packed and made their way to the stables so that they could finally be on their way.

 


	14. An Old Friend

Chapter 14

**Syndra’s fortress**

Riven winced reflexively putting her hand up to block the sun as she rounded a bend and the early afternoon sun shone in her eyes.  Syndra, Irelia, and she had traveled most of yesterday. According to Syndra they should be close to her fortress.  Riven wasn’t sure why they had to go to her fortress but Syndra insisted that they stop there first. 

“How much farther do we have to go?”  Irelia asked.

Syndra hummed for a second thinking to herself.  “It should be around the next corner.”

When Riven caught a glimpse of Irelia from behind her hand, she noticed that Irelia was blocking the sun as well.  After a minute of walking, the sun receded behind a set of clouds allowing Riven and Irelia to see again.  When her vision finally cleared she noticed that Syndra was off her horse floating next to Irelia.

“Why did we get you a horse again?”  Riven questioned.

Syndra looked unamused, “Someone has to carry my stuff for me, besides I prefer to pet animals not ride them.”

“That is what we have backpacks and bags for.”  Riven commented.

Syndra chuckled at Riven’s comment, “No thank you, the horse can carry it for now.  Besides my butt gets sore after riding for too long.”

“So do ours, but we deal with it.”

Syndra smiled, “Ah ha, but that is the difference between us.  I can do something about it.”

“Ah, you are only flying because you can’t ride a horse.”  Riven teased.

“Wait, what?  Who told you that!?”  Syndra remarked behind pink cheeks, before trying to regain her composure, “I mean, of course I can ride a horse!”

Riven laughed to herself, “Really?  I was just teasing you.  You really can’t ride a horse?”

“So where is this corner you spoke of?”  Irelia interrupted.

“Oh, right over there.”  Syndra pointed down the road.

Riven and Irelia both let out a sigh as they followed Syndra’s hand to see her pointing to a mountain that had Syndra’s fortress floating mockingly above it.

* * *

 

 

Karma sat back at her desk, staring up at the ceiling.  After spending the last few hours doing paperwork, she finally had gotten around to reading Irelia’s letter along with a file on The Dark Sovereign.  The file was a lot smaller than Karma had thought, she figured that some files had either been lost or destroyed over the years due to some discrepancies in the contents.

_What have you gotten yourself into Irelia?_   Karma thought to herself.

Karma started to create a report on The Dark Sovereign with the information that Irelia had given her.  She felt bad using Irelia like this, but she thought what she was doing was rash and idiotic.  Going out on a mission with someone that she barely knew, who also happened to be one of the most wanted people in Ionia.  Not to mention the potential political ramifications of the Captain of Ionia’s guard hanging out with The Dark Sovereign.

Karma was getting a migraine already thinking about all of the interception she would have to do to keep this information from going public.  Her thoughts were interrupted by the sound of knocking on her office door.

“Come in.”

“Pardon my sudden intrusion Duchess Karma.  I was in the area and I figured that I would stop in and pay you a visit.”

“Azrael, what a pleasant surprise.  What brings you up to the Placidium?”  Karma asked as she motioned for Azrael to sit down.

Azrael was a childhood friend of Karma’s. You could tell that both Karma and Azrael shared some common ancestors due to their similar appearance. Granted it was hard not to share characteristics when you were from a distinct providence such as Navori. They were most likely distant cousins. However, Azrael had longer hair, which he pulled away from his face and into a braid that hung over his shoulder. He seemed to be at the Placidium for a meeting due to the fact that he was wearing the traditional Elder robes. Everyone hated the robe due to its inability to breathe and the fact that the sash was constantly sliding off the shoulder. Karma noticed that his braid was caught in between the collar of the robe and the ceremonial sash.

“What is an old friend not allowed to drop by just to say hello?”  Azrael responded in a jolly manner.

Karma chuckled skeptically, “We are a bit of a ways away from Navori.”  Karma sighed, “How long has it been since we have had a chance to sit and talk?”

Azrael looked up in thought for a moment, “Probably since ‘The Distinction’, four years ago.”

‘The Distinction’ was a competition that Ionia held every five years.  The event is used to determine who will be the elder of each province.  Before the Noxian Invasion, Karma had participated in The Distinction earning her spot as an Elder.  The elders from each province were required to meet three times a year to discuss the current state of Ionia, though due to their work Azrael and she hadn’t had time to talk outside of meetings for quite some time.  Due to Karma being promoted to a Duchess and now spending most of her time in the Placidium, she gave her position as Elder away to Azrael in Navori.  He was only a step behind her in the last Distinction so it seemed fitting that he received the position.

“Has it really been that long…?”  Karma said reminiscing, “Are you going to participate in the next Distinction?”

Azrael waved his hand dismissively, “I don’t even want to think about it.”  Azrael glanced at the contents of Karma’s desk, his gaze landing on the file about The Dark Sovereign.  He hovered his hand over the file, looking at Karma to make sure she was okay with it, before picking it up and glancing over it.  “So, what brings your attention to The Dark Sovereign?”

Karma sat there for a few moments, contemplating with herself if she should let him know.  _Hmm…should I tell him?  It’s confidential information so I probably should keep it a secret for now…Then again I am going to have to report this to the elders soon anyway, what’s the harm in letting him know a bit early?  As long as I don’t reveal any of Irelia’s personal details it should be okay._

“A friend of mine requested permission to allow The Dark Sovereign to let her accompany her on a mission.”  Karma divulged.

Azrael flinched like he had been slapped in the face, “You didn’t let her, did you?”

“I did. Even if I had forbidden her she probably still would have went on the mission anyway.  She may not be an expert at it, but she knows her way around politics.”  After a few seconds pause she continued, “She can take care of herself, so I’m not worried about her getting injured.  By the sound of the letters that she sent me The Dark Sovereign has taken a liking to her for some reason, though I worry whether that is good or bad.”  As Karma spoke, her face reflected the confusion in her brain as to what she was saying.  If she hadn’t read the letters herself she probably wouldn’t have believed that The Dark Sovereign could like anyone but herself.

“Letters?”  Azrael asked confused.

“Oh right, I didn’t tell you.  I requested that Irelia send me daily letters during their mission.”  Karma explained.

“What’s the letters purpose?”

“Simply put, to know that she okay.  On top of that, I can use this as an opportunity to increase our understanding of The Dark Sovereign.”

“Clever, anything that you are willing to tell now?”  Azrael asked.

Karma sat back thinking to herself for a moment before saying, “Not yet, I want to build up a proper report that I can give to the council first.  Though that may be a while, Irelia was not exactly happy with the terms that I put on her.  If she does not feel that The Dark Sovereign is a threat, she will be reluctant to share too much information about her.”  Karma sighed, “Once she sets her mind on something she can be so stubborn sometimes.”

“Not a threat?!?”  Azrael said surprised, “Has she not heard about what **_that witch_** has done!?”  At this point Azrael was standing up with his hands on Karma’s desk, his chair fallen to the ground behind him.  Karma flinched back, surprised by her friends sudden outburst.  A few seconds later he composed himself, picking up his chair and sitting back down, “I…apologize.  I do not know what came over me there.  Does your friend not realize that The Dark Sovereign has caused great suffering for our people?”

Karma couldn’t help but shake the feeling that something was off, she knew that some people had some prejudices from the War and against some of Ionia’s more well-known villains.  Having seen the horrors of the war first hand, Karma could understand why some people had the hatred that they did, but what she couldn’t understand is them harboring it for so long.  Though the possibility of an elder harboring these traits worried Karma.

“Right, well, she is not the type of person to judge someone based upon word of mouth.  She will take those things into consideration, but will not judge them until she has a chance to meet them for herself.”  While she was speaking, Karma straightened out the objects on her desk, as she finished she stood up, “Now if you will excuse me, a friend is expecting me for lunch and I would hate to keep them waiting.”

* * *

 

 

The bright yellow and orange of the campfire shone brightly on Irelia’s skin.  After several hours of traveling, most of it being up the mountain towards her fortress; Syndra, Irelia, and Riven had decided to set up a camp for the night.  The horses were drinking from a stream that went down the mountain, while the three women sat around the campfire waiting for their dinner to cook.  Their dinner consisted of a stew with some vegetables that Irelia had brought along, and a rabbit that Riven had caught while hunting.  Syndra had not taken the capture and cooking of the rabbit well.  Currently the rabbit was skewed.

“Awe come on, you didn’t have any problem eating meat when we were at Irelia’s house.”  Riven said.

“Cute animals are my friend, cute animals are my friend, cute animals are my friend.”  Syndra muttered to herself as she sat rocking back and forth.

Irelia was next to her trying to comfort her.  She spoke towards Riven, “I do not think that Syndra has ever actually seen the animal before it was on her plate.”  After she finished speaking she turned towards Syndra and continued rubbing her back, attempting to make her feel better. “There, there, you do not have to eat the rabbit Syndra.  We won’t put it directly into the stew.”

“Really?”  Syndra asked as she peeked her head up at Irelia.  She then took the opportunity to shift herself so that she could lay her head on Irelia’s shoulder.

“What!?  But it won’t taste as good that way!”  Riven interjected.

“Really.”  Irelia responded, ignoring Riven, still unsure how to feel about Syndra laying her head on her shoulder.

“How have you survived on your own for so long Syndra?  Haven’t you had to cook yourself, surely you have had to prepare animal meat before.”

“Well, yeah, but it was always prepared to cook before I had it in my hands. Sometimes I would cook for myself with items that I bought from a merchant that frequently came by this area, other times I would get stuff from Zed, or I would get food in a town that I was visiting.”  Syndra explained

“Merchants traded with you?  You can cook!?”  Irelia asked surprised.

“Of course, they don’t care who they’re trading with as long as they get paid and there isn’t any trouble.”

Irelia could tell that Syndra frowned as she got up to check on the stew, but otherwise she said nothing.  Once she was satisfied that it was finished, she poured bowls for all three of them, passing out the utensils that she had packed before they left.  Once Irelia was finished passing out the soup she sat back down in her original spot next to Syndra.  A few feet to her right, Riven was checking to make sure the meat was properly cooked all the way through, shortly after adding it to her stew.

“So, why is your fortress all the way up here in the mountains?  This seems rather inconvenient to travel to.”  Riven asked in-between blowing on her soup to try and cool it down.

“That’s the point, to keep people away.”  Syndra said flatly.

From what Irelia could see from the fire lighting up Riven’s face, she seemed confused.

“Why?  I mean yeah you’re a bit socially awkward, but from what I have seen you don’t generally dislike people.  At least not past noon.”  Riven said in between eating her soup.

“Maybe another time, let’s just say that I don’t like surprise visitors, okay?”  Syndra responded, forcing her voice to stay even.

After that the group sat in silence for a little while, not knowing what to talk about.  The rest of the night was spent making small talk before they eventually took shifts making sure the fire didn’t go out.

 

Unsurprisingly, Syndra was the last one to wake up the next morning.  What was unusual was that she actually had gotten up at around the same time as Riven and Irelia, though that was more because she didn’t have a good way to block out the sun rather than getting up of her own will.  After eating breakfast, they had started the last trek of their journey to get to Syndra’s Fortress, and it had only taken them about a quarter of a day’s journey for them to arrive.

“That…is a lot bigger than I thought it would be.”  Riven commented as she stared up at the fortress.  “I think I’ll stay down here, take care of the horses, and explore a bit.  You two can go on ahead.”  As Riven said this she lead the horses down to a pond that was below the fortress.

“Just you and me.”  Syndra hummed pleasantly towards Irelia, floating herself backwards like she was in a chair.  Patting her lap Syndra asked, “Need a ride up?”

Irelia looked at her uncomfortably, before her blades floated onto the ground in front of her and Irelia jumped on them balancing herself gracefully.

Syndra pouted, “You’re no fun.”  Before the two of them floated up to her fortress.

As they reached the top of the fortress, Syndra noticed that there was a figure dressed in black standing in her gardens.

“Syndra, who’s that?”  Irelia asked.

“I don’t know.”  Syndra remarked.  She looked over her flowers who were in surprisingly good shape considering that winter was approaching soon.  “But whoever they are they took really good care of my flowers!”

Irelia merely stared at her blankly for a few seconds, a mixture of emotions on her face.  From what Syndra could tell, most of it was confusion, and maybe a little bit of disappointment.

“What?”  Syndra asked innocently.

Before Irelia could respond, the ninja walked over and introduced themselves.

The ninja’s had short to medium length black hair, and blue eyes.  They wore a traditional ninja outfit that was dark blue in color, and it appeared as if they had some sort of fishnet underneath of it, but Syndra couldn’t really tell.  It was hard for her to figure out if it was a guy or a girl, most of their features just gave her mixed signals.

“Hello, my name is Yuri, and I was sent here by Master Zed to take care of your home while you were away.”

“YOU CAN TALK!”  Syndra exclaimed.

“Why wouldn’t she be able to talk?”  Irelia asked.

“She?  THAT’S A GIRL!”  Syndra yelled, then she turned to Irelia, “Are you sure that’s a girl?”  Then Syndra turned her attention towards Yuri, looking at her skeptically, poking her in the chest repeatedly to make sure that the ninja was in fact a girl.  “I can’t tell if I’m poking a boob or a chest muscle…”

The ninja’s face was red from embarrassment and annoyance, after a few seconds she slapped Syndra’s hand away, responding “That’s my boob you idiot!”

“Ow!  That hurt.”  Syndra said while rubbing her hand.

“You kind of deserved that.”  Irelia commented, “Why were you so surprised that she spoke anyway?”

“Most of Zed’s ninjas just look at my blankly, and never speak to me for some reason.”  Syndra thought to herself for a moment, “I actually can’t remember the last time I spoke to a ninja that wasn’t Zed, or his shadow.”

Yuri shuddered a bit at the mention of Zed’s shadow.

“You okay?”  Irelia asked.

“I’m fine.”  Yuri responded quickly.

“So what are you here to take care of Yuri?”  Irelia questioned.

“My job is to make sure that Syndra’s fortress stays in decent shape,” Yuri took a piece of paper out before continuing, “otherwise ‘that idiot will let it rot into the ground.’ According to Master Zed.”

“So what kind of things have you been taking care of?”

“Making sure that the garden is tended, and that none of the food goes to waste mostly.”

“That is nice of you—”

Syndra interrupted an annoyed expression on her face, “That jerk stole all my chocolate didn’t he!”

“Now, now, I’m sure he did not take your sweets Syndra.” Irelia tried to comfort Syndra.

Yuri tapped her finger to the side of her head, clearly in thought for a moment, “He took them…I think three, no four days ago?”

“What?”  Irelia said extremely confused.

“That jerk!  Tell him to come here right now!  I want my chocolate back!”  Syndra raged, as she pointed angrily at Yuri.

“You know I have no way of contacting him.”  Yuri responded.

“There, there, at least your flowers are okay.  We can get you chocolate when we go to the next town.”  Irelia said trying to calm Syndra down.

Syndra huffed giving in, she muttered “Fine, but he still owes me chocolate.”

With that Syndra walked off into her fortress, leaving Irelia and Yuri behind.  She gathered a few items from her room and library.  As she left each room she used her magic to seal them, she didn’t doubt that Yuri was one of Zeds ninja’s, though that didn’t mean that she trusted her.  Syndra sighed, oddly enough she felt like she was going to miss her fortress for the time she was going to be gone.  She felt like it was ironic considering the fact that she had spent so much time cooped up here.

Syndra walked out of the fortress, seeing Irelia and Yuri talking outside as she exited.  As she approached them, Irelia turned towards her.

“Ready to go?”  Irelia asked.

“Yup!”  Syndra said, patting her bag of items.  Before they left Syndra turned towards Yuri, “My fortress better be in good shape when I get back.”

With that Syndra grabbed Irelia by the waist, and dragged her off the fortress.  As they were falling towards the ground she yelled, “And tell Zed that jerk still owes me chocolate!”

 


	15. Unwanted Meeting

“You did this on purpose didn’t you.”  Irelia remarked as she held on tightly to Syndra.

“What?  I have no idea what you’re talking about.  This was merely the fastest way to get us off of my fortress.”  Syndra remarked with a hint of sarcasm.  Truthfully Irelia was right, Syndra was intentionally lowering them down to the ground at slow rate, but she wouldn’t admit that.  As they free floated down to the ground Syndra let them fall quicker for a second causing a bit of hiccup.  Syndra smirked as Irelia tightened her grip around Syndra’s body,  _ I could get used to this.   _ As they reached the ground Irelia let go of Syndra, landing on her hands and knees.

“Next time, can I fly on my own terms?”  Irelia asked.

“It wasn’t THAT bad.  I quite enjoyed our time floating down here together.”

“Or how about we get something I can stand on so I don’t almost always fall.”

“Awe, but I drop you so you hug me tight.”  Syndra remarked.

“What?”

“Nothing!”  Syndra said with a smile as she started to skip away from a confused Irelia. 

Syndra made her way down the mountainside with Irelia close by her towards Riven who was at the lake near the base of her fortress.  Looking around, Syndra realized that she never really looked at the landscape surrounding her fortress from on the ground.  The landscape was fairly hilly and had a decent amount of trees on it.  While she was taking in the landscape Syndra smirked, mentally giving herself a pat on the back for picking such a good location for her fortress.  It was secluded and looked good, just the way she liked it.

As Irelia and Syndra got to the base of the hill near the lake, they noticed that Riven already had a respectable amount of wood piled up for a camp fire and what appeared to be the early makings of their lunch.  As they approached Riven she turned to them and said, “Wow, you guys are back already?  You actually wanted to grab something real quick.”

Syndra and Irelia ended up answering Riven simultaneously.

“Yeah.”  Irelia responded.

“No.”  Syndra said. 

“What did you think we were doing?”  Irelia asked looking between Syndra and Riven befuddled.

Riven grabbed Irelia’s attention, “I don’t know: get a grand tour of the FORTRESS, spend some time together, TOUR THE GIANT FLOATING FORTRESS.”

“I was going to, but we got interrupted by a surprise guest.”  Syndra pouted.

“Going to what?”  Irelia asked slightly concerned.

Ignoring Irelia, Riven questioned “Surprise guest?”

Syndra crossed her arms, shifting her weight to her left side, “Yeah apparently Zed sent one of has lackeys to watch my fortress while I was gone.”

“Oh, well that was nice of him.”

Syndra made a snort of derision, “I don’t like uninvited guests in my home, why do you think it is so far out of the way.”

“She is just mad because they raided her sweets.”  Irelia commented.

“Am not!”  Syndra responded childishly.

Riven raised her hand like she was going to respond, but when her expression just got more confused she put her hand down.

“So what now?”  Syndra asked.

Irelia looked at the pile of wood on the ground, “No sense in letting this go to waste, we might as well eat lunch before heading out.  Besides I am not in any rush to get back onto those horses.”  With that Irelia made her way over and started making preparations for their lunch.

“It wasn’t that bad.”  Syndra remarked

“You didn’t even ride a horse!”  Riven responded.

Syndra unfolded her hands and shrugged her shoulders, “If it was up to me then we would fly across the landscape on my fortress, or with my magic.”

“Because that wouldn’t be extremely obvious.”  Riven replied sarcastically.

“And me floating next to my horse isn’t?”

“Yeah, we are going to have to fix that as we get closer to civilization.”

“Ah, shit.”  Syndra said as she slumped her shoulders.

Syndra and Riven turned towards Irelia as she yelled towards them, “If you two want lunch someone is going to have to start the fire and help with preparations.”

Syndra and Riven turned towards each other and said simultaneously, “You got the fire!”

Syndra squinted at Riven and raised her hand to a Ro Sham Bo position, “Loser gets the fire?”

Riven nodded back at her, raising her hand to meet Syndra’s, declaring at the same time:

“Ro”

“Sham”

“Bo!”

Syndra shot her hand out as paper, and at the same time Riven put her hand out as rock.

Syndra looked up at the sky, raising her hands in the air triumphantly, “I am Syndra, Ro Sham Bo goddess!”  After that she merrily skipped her way over to Irelia where she started to help her prepare their lunch, leaving Riven standing there with a very confused and disappointed look on her face.

 

* * *

 

**Three days later**

Zed stalked his way around the outskirts of the Placidium, staying on the tops of buildings when he could to avoid the small number of people walking around.  Considering that it was the dead of night, there was very few people out aside from some guards.  His target was on the ground on the opposite side of the street from him, with him was two burly men acting as bodyguards.  Usually Zed would leave these kinds of missions to his subordinates, but there was some information that he wanted to get from the man that he wanted to hear personally.  Currently the man and his bodyguards were just finishing eating at a small noodle kiosk on the side of the street.

_ Finally.  Who takes an hour to eat noodles anyway?   _ Zed thought to himself, standing stretching his stiff limbs in preparation for trailing the men.

Zed made his way across the rooftops towards the other side of the street, staying a moderate distance from the men to avoid getting seen.  He didn’t expect the men to even give a second thought that they may be followed, but Zed preferred to not take unnecessary chances.  After trailing them for a few minutes they finally got a secluded area of the city where there was no one else around.  After making sure that the area was actually clear, Zed made his way ahead of the men towards an alley with a pole jutting up next to it.  As the men approached, Zed took out two Shurikens and threw them into the second alley across from him and slid down the pole towards ground level.  When he heard a decently loud clang he knew he had hit his target, he wasn’t aiming for something in particular, just something that would make a decent distraction.

Zed peered his head around the corner, the guards had drawn their weapon and were looking towards the alley a few feet from Zed.  Zed moved out from the alley behind his target grabbing him in a chokehold, simultaneously spawning shadow portals underneath the guards sending them into a forest south of the Placidium hundreds of miles away.  After that he drug his target back into the alley, not wanting to stay out in the open.

As he got into the alley he put a minor squeeze on his targets neck, “If you want to make it out of this alive, you won’t raise your voice beyond this tone, understood?”  To make sure he got his point across, he used his left hand to grab a shuriken holding it up towards the man, and used his right arm to tighten the hold around the man’s neck again while leaning back a bit to constrict the man even more.

The man rasped out, “yeeeessss.”

“Good.”  Zed responded as he twirled the man around and pinned him up against the wall with his right arm.

“Rumor has it that you’re the elder I should be talking to regarding The Box.”

The man’s eyes widened in shock, as he struggled to free himself, but to no avail.  He only succeeded in making his position even more uncomfortable.

“Who told you that!?”  The man frantically asked.

“Ah ah ah, who is the one against the wall here?  I ask the questions and you answer, nothing else.”

“I can’t say.”

“There’s very few words that man can’t say, but many that they won’t.  You don’t have that option.”  As Zed said this he brought his shuriken towards the man’s face, and traced a faint line across the man’s cheek with it.  Blood welled up on his cheek and it began to sluggishly bleed.

Zed was about to begin his question again when he felt a presence behind him.

_ Shit. _  He thought to himself.

Zed turned his head looking over his shoulder, sighing as he saw the last person he wanted to see right now.

“Shen.”  He said curtly.

 

* * *

 

**Thirty minutes earlier**

“If you felt him out there then why aren’t we out there dragging him into the authorities!?  Or better yet actually making him pay for what he did to the order.”  Akali, who was originally sitting, was now standing having knocked her chair over after hearing Shen’s news that he felt Zed’s presence.  

“He’s been just sitting there staring at the noodle shop for 45 minutes now.  I want to see what he does first before acting.”  Shen responded in the same neutral tone he always did.  Whenever Zed was the topic of conversation Akali always lost her temper, mostly because on their differing views of him.

Akali flinched like she been slapped, “See what he does?  Do I have to remind you how he tried to kill us!?  How he took away everything we had!?”

“I’m FULLY aware of what he has done Akali, he’s been blinded by the darkness enveloping his soul.”

“Pffft, was his soul enveloped by darkness when he got kicked from the order?  Was it enveloped when he came back with an army to kill us?  No, by the time the shadows took ahold of him he was long gone.”  Akali refused, pissed that they were even having this conversation.

“If we abandon him now then who will be there to save him?”

Akali sighed, lowering her voice “Shen, I know you were close to Zed.  But that man out there,” Akali said as she pointed towards the outside, “isn’t the same Zed you knew when you were kids.  Don’t forget that I spent time with him after the order fell.  I know you don’t want to hear this, but he is beyond saving at this point.  If you don’t want your precious memories of him ruined any further, then he is better off dead.”  Akali’s said in an icy and quiet tone.

“Enough.  I will go out, track him down, and see what he is up to.  After that we will decide a course of action.”

Shen walked out the door to Akali’s apartment and made his way towards the noodle shop that Zed was staking out.  He wished that he could bring Akali around to his point of view, but she was fairly stubborn.  Especially when it came to Zed.  They all had history with Zed, well Kennen not so much.  Shen and Akali both were fairly close to Zed at one point.  Shen wasn’t quite sure what happened between Zed and Akali to make her hate him so much, nor did he pry her on it.  When she was ready she would tell him, and if she never wanted to bring it up again he was wouldn’t bother her on it.

As Shen made it to the noodle shop he found an empty vantage point.  Shen tried searching around for clue as to where Zed went, but wasn’t met with much success in the darkness.  Shen decided to sit down and meditate hoping that he would be able to sense Zed or his shadow magic.  His patience was rewarded when he felt Zed open up two shadow portals.  Without hesitation he ran off towards Zed, barely paying attention to his surroundings.  As he felt himself getting close to where he felt the shadow portals open up, he slowed his pace as to not alert Zed of his presence.  Slowly dropping into the entrance of the alley, he finally saw Zed.

Zed had a man pinned up against the wall with his arm, a shuriken in his other hand tracing a line down the man’s face.  Concerned for the man, Shen began to step closer.  Suddenly Zed stiffened for a second, as he looked over his shoulder at him.

“Shen.”


	16. I Don't Know Them

The air around Zed and Shen was heavy.  Both were ready to react to each other’s movements.  Zed still had the elder pinned up against the wall, though at this point he wished that there was no elder.  He wanted Shen to be his top priority, but alas this was not the case.  Zed had more pressing matters to attend to then Shen.

“Put the elder down Zed.”  Shen stated in his natural monotone voice, a tone that Zed had grown to hate.

Zed kept his eyes pinned on Shen, who currently had his hands on the two short swords he kept on his back.  Surprisingly there wasn’t a cloud in the sky, a fact that made their encounter all the more tense.  Shen who was just outside the alley way in the street was lit up clear as day.  Zed for the most was only partially covered as the moonlight struck the building behind him casting a shadow towards the back of the alley.

“Aw, but we were having such a pleasant conversation, weren’t we?”  Zed said as he shook the elder, never diverting his attention from Shen.  Zed didn’t expect Shen to put the elder in any unnecessary danger, but he had to assume that Shen knew the elder had some sort of value to him.  As time passed the tension would rise and the situation would fall out of Zed’s favor.  It wouldn’t be long now before Akali or Kennen would start to look for Shen, if they hadn’t started already.  Zed was no fool, he knew that the outcome wouldn’t be in his favor if it came down to a two vs. one fight.

At last the irony of the situation hit him, and he started to laugh, causing the elder that was pinned to the wall to move back in fear, but otherwise stood still.

“What’s so funny Zed?”  Shen responded unamused.

“After all these years of searching!  Repeated failed attempts to track you down!  I find no trace of you, Akali, or Kennen.  Yet the one time that I don’t have time for you, here you are!  I’m not sure if I should be insulted or impressed that you managed to hide all of this time in the Placidium.”

“Maybe you should have trained your ninjas better.”

Zed winced like he had been struck, mocking Shen.  “Ouch that hurts Shen.  For someone who is supposed to be the neutral decider of balance, you really are good at taunting and insulting people.”

“I see the rumors that your shadow’s sarcasm has worn off on you are true.  Your immaturity hasn’t changed a bit either.”

Zed unintentionally put more pressure on the elder’s neck as Shen’s statement angered him more than he would care to admit.  As a result of this the elder began tapping Zed as he fought for air.  Zed let up the pressure and regained his previous focus as the elder began coughing when air filled his lungs again.

“Who told you about the shadow!?”  Zed growled.

Shen relaxed, shrugging nonchalantly, “What do you mean?  You’ve had that shadow since my father banished you.”

_Man, he’s an ass._   Shen never failed to annoy Zed with that tactic.  There was just something about that shrugging motion that pissed him off.

Zed refused to let Shen get the satisfaction of goading him into attacking him, “You know that isn’t what I meant.  There are few in this country that know of my shadow’s sentience, and you shouldn’t be one of them.”

Shen began to reply to Zed, but Zed ignored it as something else caught his attention.  It was a familiar whistling noise, but he couldn’t place where he had heard it before.

_AKALI!_   Zed thought as he leaned back, only to have one of her Kama’s go whizzing past his face a moment later, breaking his mask along the way.  Zed stared down at the ground for a moment as he got back his baring.  The force of his mask being destroyed temporarily disoriented him.  As he looked back up he could see Shen was positioned like he had started to move, but suddenly stopped.  The Kama that had been thrown was firmly planted in the ground diagonally in front of him.  Zed spared a quick glance back into the alley where Akali was standing, and then back at the elder who was hesitantly staring at the blade on Zed’s wrist that was dangerously close to his face now.  Zed had tensed up and unintentionally activated the blade on his wrist.  This was probably the only reason that Shen and Akali didn’t take him down in that moment.

“What...what happened to you Zed?”  Shen asked with a hint of shock, showing emotion in his voice for the first time that night.

Zed could feel wind blow gently on his face and through his graying hair, he couldn’t remember the last time he felt that sensation.

“This is what happens when you are the head of an order.  Stress isn’t kind to your body.”

“Don’t lie Zed!  That is more than stress.  You look like you are ten years older than you should be!”  Akali snapped from inside the alley, her Kama’s ready.

Zed glared at Akali for a moment before diverting the majority of his attention back to Shen, “Fine.  If you must know then this is the price one must pay for power.”

“We can help you Zed.  Is that shadow magic really worth an early grave?”  Shen asked, the calmness returning to his voice.

_Still think I’m worth saving, eh?_   _Some things never change._

Zed turned to the elder, “I will see you again, Elder Azrael.”

“Zed!”

Without bothering to respond, Zed retracted the blades on his left hand, and grabbed the elder.   Zed opened up a shadow portal on the wall behind the elder, and as he turned he threw the elder into Shen.  Using the excess momentum he threw himself against the wall and into the darkness of his portal.

* * *

 

A chill went through Irelia’s body as a cool breeze blew past her and her companions.  The days were getting colder as the harsh Ionian winter slowly approached.  This was evident by the trees that were starting to bare, along with the shorter and colder days.  Irelia had spent the last few days trying to teach Syndra how to ride a horse, while Riven gathered information from a local village.  Horse riding had been such a huge pass time for Irelia in her youth, that she had never even considered the possibility that Syndra had never been around a horse prior to this, let alone ride one.  After three days Syndra still wasn’t that good at horseback riding, but she at least would be able to get through populated areas without falling off.  At least that’s what Irelia told herself to make herself feel better.

“Irelia?”

Currently Irelia, Syndra, and Riven were making their way towards a town to meet up with Riven who was trying to gather some information about the nearby mercenary camps.  Irelia was surprised that they hadn’t been dealt with yet considering that they had been stealing from the farmers.  Granted, they may not have had the warriors available to deal with them, but the fact that this was still an issue after so long still bothered her.

“Syndra to Irelia, are you there?  I repeat Syndra to Irelia, do you copy?”

Irelia screamed as she zoned back into reality to find Syndra floating in front of her face, hands cupped around her mouth to help project her voice.  This startled Irelia and she accidentally pulled back on the reins, causing the horse to rear up and send her tumbling backwards off the horse.  Irelia tensed herself preparing to hit the ground, only it never came.  As she opened her eyes she realized that Syndra was holding her afloat with her magic, and the flat part of her blades were underneath her as well.

“You zone out a lot.  But you are adorable when you do, so it is okay!”  Syndra commented with a smile.

“Thanks, I think?”

Syndra huffed, “It isn’t as fun when you don’t blush or act confused.  So how close to this town are we anyway?”

“It is just around this corner, we should be there in a few minutes.”

“Good, I am starving.  And bored, riding horses just isn’t that exciting.”  Syndra commented.

“I don’t think I have seen you actually ride the horse outside of training.”

Syndra waved her hand dismissively at Irelia’s statement.

“Syndra?”

“Yes!?”  Syndra’s voice filled with excitement.

“Not that I mind you carrying me or anything, but can you please put me down now?”  Irelia asked, still being held a few inches off the ground by Syndra’s magic.

Syndra took this as an invitation to lean in close to Irelia, close enough that her face was right next to her, their cheeks almost touching.  “So, you don’t mind being carried you say?”

Irelia let out an involuntary yelp and blushed as she was surprised by Syndra’s closeness, who took this as a personal victory and began to dance while she put Irelia on her feet.

Syndra started to talk to herself as she danced in front of Irelia, shaking her hips, “Who’s still got?  I’ve got it!  Who’s still got?  Syndra!” 

* * *

 

Riven watched as Irelia and Syndra approached the town on horseback.  _They stick out like sore thumbs._   Riven couldn’t help but shake her head as she put it down into her hand.

A woman from the inn walked out to give Riven a drink.  When she saw Riven she looked up at her approaching comrades and back to Riven, before asking, “Miss.?  Do you know those two?”

Riven slowly raised her head to look at the woman, “I wish I could say that I didn’t.  But I am trying to be a better person now so I would be lying if I said I didn’t.”

The woman responded by laughing, “They seem like an interesting pair of friends to have.”

“That doesn’t cover the half of it, one’s oblivious and the other’s outspoken.”

“Which one’s which?”

“Honestly?  Depends on the day.”


	17. Don't Believe Everything You Hear

“Hi Riven!”  Syndra yelled as she waved at Riven.

Riven barely lifted her free hand off the table to wave back.  As they approached the inn, Irelia and Syndra got off their horses and tied them to the hitching post outside.  They walked up and took seats across from Riven.  

Shortly after they sat down, Irelia and Riven started talking about whatever it was that they were going to do next.  Syndra quickly became disinterested with the conversation and started to zone out.  She enjoyed her time with Irelia and Riven; but whenever they talked about plans, tactics, or whatever it was that they discussed in these moments she just got sooo bored.  Syndra summoned three small dark spheres and started twirling them around in front of her in an attempt to stave off sleep.  Typically Irelia would make her keep them hidden so as to not draw attention to herself, but she was too caught up in the conversation to pay attention to her.

Syndra’s attention was diverted to the waitress that brought them some tea that she didn’t even know they ordered.  She didn’t give the woman a second glance until she spoke up to Syndra.

“How long have you been a mage?”  The waitress asked.  She was about Syndra’s height, maybe a few inches shorter.  She had medium length black hair that was tied back into a pony tail.  Her eyes were a light blue color.

“I’m sorry?”  She asked a few moments later, slightly confused and caught off guard by the woman’s question.

The woman merely pointed the spheres she was juggling in front of her, “That’s magic isn’t it?”

“Oh, yeah.  I guess I’ve always been a mage.  I don’t remember a time where I wasn’t a mage.”  Normally Syndra wasn’t so willing to tell people personal information, but she had a familiar feeling about her and the question seemed harmless enough.

“Ah, a natural I suppose.”  She commented.

“What makes you ask?”  Irelia questioned, taking an interest in the woman’s questions.

“She just reminds me of a niece that I had years ago.”  The waitress responded.

_ **Syndra’s Flashback** _

_ **Syndra, whose Auntie’s favorite niece?** _

An uncomfortable feeling started to settle in the pit of Syndra’s stomach.  It was only minor, but something was bothering her nonetheless.  

“What was she like?”  Irelia asked.

“She had long white hair.  Cutest little girl you’ve ever seen, and she loved to show off her magic when I came down to visit.” 

_ **Brother, how did a guy like you produce such a cute little girl?** _

“I still remember the golden glow it had like it was yesterday.  It was the same color as the sun.”  

_ **Syndra, Auntie loves your magic! It’s like the sunrise!** _

“If it wasn’t rocks then it was throwing rocks into the ocean.”

“The ocean?  So were you not originally from around here?”

The waitress nodded her head, “No, my brother lived in Navori near the ocean.  I couldn’t have children of my own, and my brother knew how much I loved children so he would frequently invite me down to visit.”

_ **Syndra be careful or you’ll get Auntie all wet!** _

The more the conversation moved forward, the more uncomfortable Syndra felt.  Something wasn’t right, and Syndra’s mind was racing a mile a minute with questions that didn’t have answers.

“You said ‘had’, don’t you mean have?”  Riven chimed in.

The waitress’s voice felt a little bit heavier the next time she spoke, which didn’t help the feeling that Syndra had.

“No.  Her parents told me that she passed away in an accident involving magic several years ago.  My brother was such a wreck that I didn’t have the heart to keep probing him for information.  After the Noxian invasion I fled here, I don’t know what happened to them after that.  I’m sure they made it out fine, my brother’s wife is very resourceful.”  After a moment the woman paused regaining her former composure, “I’m sorry.”  She said giving a bow, “You guys came to talk and have tea, and here I am taking up all your time with my life story.”

“You’re fine.  Sometimes there are things that you have to get off your chest.”  

With that the waitress thanked them and walked back into the inn.

At the same time Syndra got up and briskly walked away.

 

* * *

 

“Syndra?”

Irelia turned to see Syndra get up and walk away from the table and start to walk towards the edge of town.

“What was that about?”  Riven asked as she stirred the ice in her drink.

Irelia took a big sip finishing her, “I don’t know.  I’m going to go find out though.”  Irelia got up and walked off into the direction that Syndra had left in.  After a few minutes of walking she made it to the edge of town.  Upon exiting the town she looked around, finding no sign of Syndra.  Looking around the scenery Irelia saw the road the came in, trees, boulders, and a few trails leading up towards a nearby mountain.

_ Where did you go? _  Irelia asked herself.

 

* * *

 

After a bit of searching Irelia found Syndra sitting somberly on top of a boulder overlooking the town.  The boulder jutted out of the mountain side, making the only easy way to get onto it was to climb up from where it was connected with the ground.  

“How did you know where to find me?”  Syndra asked without looking away from the view as Irelia climbed onto the boulder and sitting next to her.

“Well, every single place you’ve taken me has been high up and had a great view.”

Syndra made a slight nodding motion in agreement, but otherwise stayed silent.  This silence persisted for another minute before Irelia spoke up.

“Want to talk about it?”

“Not really.”

“I’m not sure what is bothering you, but it is enough to make you leave town without a word.”  When Syndra didn’t respond again she continued, “You’re acting odd, even for you.  It is unusual for you to be this somber.”

“Promise you won’t think I’m weird?”

“In the span of the last month I’ve met a strangely motherly war veteran, the most feared person in Ionia who actually is one of the happiest people I’ve ever met, who I also think may be hitting on me,  Her best friend who also tied for public enemy number one whom’s biggest crime that I’ve seen yet is probably just having too great a love for baking and maybe raiding your chocolate stash.  Trust me there is nothing that you can say that can make this any weirder.”

As Irelia spoke, Syndra’s face went through a variety of emotions from agreement, to a half smile, to disappointment, and finally to a suppressed chuckle.  When Syndra began to speak her voice still held a somber tone, but it wasn’t as present as it was before.

“When that woman spoke.  I had...visions.”

“Visions?  Is that one of your powers?”  Irelia questioned, slightly confused.

“No.  When she was talking I was getting random flashes, whatever she described I could see it my head as if I was there.  But at the same time it was different...it was as if it was from her niece’s point of view.  I don’t know what it means.”

“Syndra, that sounds more like memories than visions.”

“That can’t be right.  I hardly remember anything dealing with my parents, let anyone else.”

“Do you think it is a coincidence that she also had a niece who was an exceptional mage with white hair?”

“No.  Yes.  I don’t know!”  Syndra said confused, as she put her hands on head.

Irelia reached over from where she was sitting and wrapped her arms around Syndra, pulling her into her embrace.  Syndra relaxed a bit, but otherwise didn’t move.

“Irelia?”

“Hmph?”

“What does this mean?”

“I’m not sure.  Do you think that it is possible that she is your aunt?”

“Maybe?  I think I need time to think on this.”

Irelia lifted Syndra up and grabbed her shoulders to keep her up, “Why don’t you take the next two days to yourself to help sort through these memories of yours and then you can meet up with Riven and I.  There are only four camps that we have to worry about, Riven and I can handle the first two on our own.  On the third day you can meet up with us and when we are done we can head back to town and if you feel like you are up to it, we can ask the waitress some questions.  Sound like a plan?”

“Will you two be alright without me?”

“Don’t worry, I think we can survive two days without you.  Just make sure you come back, okay?”

 

* * *

 

**Two days later**

Irelia and Riven had cleared the camps with minimal effort.

_ Irelia surfed on her blade into the middle of the camp with Riven by her side, the two barely fitting on the blade.  She lowered them down towards the ground.  When they were a few feet from the ground Riven jumped off the blade into the middle of the camp, surprising most of the mercenaries.  She wasted no time getting into combat by driving her blade into the nearest mercenary, and after yanking it out quickly slashing the next who was just getting up to attack her.  Irelia jumped down behind her, sending two of her into the nearest mercenary, the other two blades followed the motion of Irelia’s arm as she made two slashes across the fourth mercenary’s chest and neck. _

_ This got the attention of some of the other mercenaries around the camp who came running to surround the women in the middle of the camp.  Irelia brought her blades back in front of her defensively.  A mercenary charged her, trying to stab his blade through her.  She parried with two of her blades and used a third one to quickly stab him in the back as his momentum carried him forward.  She jumped back as another made a swinging motion across her midsection, in response Irelia brought the last one of her four blades up into his own.  The next mercenary came at her with a dagger in hand stabbing downwards to her face, instinctively Irelia moved forward, bringing her hands up, and met with the man’s arm on the outside and guided the dagger downwards into his own thigh.  Then she brought her hand up under his chin, gracefully moving behind him back to back, she brought her hand around in a tight circle, the man's chin still in hand.  The man collapsing behind her as she broke his neck.  Irelia could see two more men in front of her that she had to deal with.  Both of which were beginning to circle her warily.  Irelia was grateful as this gave her a moment to collect herself.  As they both charged her at the same time Irelia separated her blade into two’s and brought her hands together as they flew into the sides of both mercenaries, as a side effect the went stumbling into one another. _

_ As Irelia turned around she saw Riven had taken care of her side of the camp as well. _

_ “That, wasn’t as difficult as I was expecting it to be.”  Riven commented. _

_ “No it wasn’t.  Good for us, but I fear it may get worse in the future.” _

Only the second camp hadn’t gone any worse than the first, it was similarly as easy.  Irelia considered that they may have some of their better warriors in other camps, if this was the case Irelia was comforted by the fact that they would have Syndra on their side to help them.

 

* * *

 

Syndra, Irelia, and Riven walked side by side into the mercenary camp.  The inhabitants were laying lifelessly on the ground, or on top of collapsed tents.  The camp was in complete disarray, the only thing that was still in piece was their campfire.  Most of the tents that didn’t have someone on them were either torn, riddled with holes, or collapsed.  The stench of the dead filled the air, though it was something that Syndra wasn’t used to, it didn’t bother her like it used to.  Out of the three of them it seemed to bother Irelia the most, though Syndra couldn’t tell if it was the stench or the scene itself that bothered her.

“What happened here?”  Irelia questioned as she surveyed the camp.

Irelia and Riven made their way over to a couple of bodies examining them.  Unsure what to do Syndra merely walked around the camp, searching.  The ground was littered with broken plates, other utensils, weapons, and armor.  Nothing that Syndra found interesting.

“It looks like it was a massacre.”  Riven commented as she carefully stepped through the bodies.

Syndra opened up a tent hoping to find something interesting inside, but alas the collapsed tent only had a bedroll inside.  She stole a glance at Irelia who was kneeling with her hand over her mouth over something.  Syndra squinted trying to see what Irelia was looking at, but from her kneeling position she couldn’t make anything out, her view being obstructed by the campfire between them.

_ A body?  No, too small.  A weapon?   _ Syndra asked herself.

Syndra’s curiosity was sated by Irelia’s timely observation.  “None of these weapons appear like they have been used, at least not recently.  Most aren’t even drawn, and the ones that are drawn are clean.”

“But this place is a mess, how is that even possible?”  Riven asked.  “Even if it was an ambush, you’d think that one of would have at least gotten lucky and taken one down with them.  At the very least nicked one of their attackers.”

“You’d think, but I don’t see anything that suggests that.”  Irelia commented as she stood up.  After a moment she spoke up again, “Hey, is there something strangely familiar about these bodies?”

“What do you mean?”  Riven asked.

“I don’t know, I just feel like I’ve seen some of these people before.”

As Syndra had checked what felt like every tent in the camp she finally came across something that caught her interest.  After a bit of ruffling and a bit of reaching her hand finally got ahold of the object of her interest, a journal.  As Syndra skimmed through the contents of the journal she wasn’t sure what exactly it was that she was looking for, she supposed any information that could potentially be useful to them.  The next few minutes were a blur for Syndra as she put her full concentration into the journal.

Eventually her concentration was broken by Irelia who had started to shake her shoulder in an attempt to get her attention.

“What!?”  Syndra snapped, not realizing who it was she was snapping at.

“Sorry! I was just trying to get your attention.”  Irelia responded slightly annoyed, “We’ve been trying to talk to you for the past minute and you’ve ignored us.”

Syndra sighed, “Sorry, I’m not used to people interrupting me while I am reading.  If you couldn’t tell I get pretty entranced, typically the only person brave enough to interrupt me is Zed so I thought it was him.”

By the look of Irelia’s face, Syndra could tell that she didn’t care for the comparison.  Her follow up sentence reassuring that assumption, “Please don’t compare me to Zed again.”

Syndra wrapped her arm around Irelia in half an embrace, “Awe come on, he isn’t that bad.  You guys are both so fun to mess with too, albeit for different reasons.”

“Anyway, did you find anything interesting in the journal?”

Syndra wanted to list the reasons why she enjoyed messing with her, but Irelia still held a look of insult and annoyance so she decided against it.

_ A mad Irelia is a scary Irelia.   _ Syndra thought to herself.

“The only thing I found worth mentioning is that apparently these guys were approached by some mysterious woman.  It doesn’t say how or why, but apparently she has a pretty strong grip on the mercenary camps around here.  The last entry was last night, this woman was supposed to have some sort of gift for the mercenaries here.”

As Syndra finished Irelia was looking over the camp, “So was this their supposed ‘gift’ or did this happen before she arrived…”

Syndra shook her head as she closed the book, “I don’t know.”  Now uninterested in the books contents, she threw it to the side.

“Ugh...Irelia, Syndra, I think I found out why these people seem familiar.”

“Why is that?”  Irelia asked

“You are better off coming over here and looking at this.”

Syndra and Irelia looked at each other, shrugged their shoulders, and started to walk over towards Riven.  Syndra noticed that Riven was standing in front of a body.

“Who's that?”  Syndra asked as she approached, but the answer to her question was apparent as soon as she got in front of Riven.  Lying there on the ground was the waitress from two days prior.  “No, no, no.  You weren’t supposed to die yet!” Syndra shouted as she collapsed to her knees.

Irelia knelt down next to Syndra and wrapped an arm around her shoulder, trying to comfort her.

“I still had questions for you!  It was only two days, two lousy days!  You were supposed to give me clues about my parents, now what am I supposed to do!”  

Riven knelt down in front of the woman’s body, putting her hand over her face, closing her eyes.  “Look, Syndra.”  Riven spoke softly, whether it was intentional or not, it drew Syndra and Irelia’s attention up to Riven’s face.  “I know it isn’t any consolation, but we may be able to still find some information about your parents if we--” 

Time appeared to slow down for Syndra as she saw an arrow suddenly emerge from Riven’s shoulder, the shock on Irelia’s face mimicking her own.  As Riven started to fall to the ground Irelia caught her easing her down, immediately trying to tend to the wound with what little she could do in the current situation.

Syndra looked around in the general direction of where she inferred the arrow had come from.  As she turned her head to the side out of the corner of her eye she spotted another arrow heading straight for Irelia.  Syndra stopped the arrow easily enough with her magic, actually seeing it this time helped with that.  Next she turned her attention to where she knew she saw the arrow come from, from where she was she could see the silhouette of a figure in the trees.  Raising her hand up, she willed a enormous dark sphere into existence. It expanded until it engulfed the area where the arrow came from.  She then closed her hand and roughly yanked the sphere towards her.  The ground easily gave way and the entire sphere rapidly flew towards her. It then halted abruptly in front of Syndra. She then lifted her other hand and made a parting motion, which in return, separated the sphere into two.  The first was filled with the land and shrubs that she uprooted. The second was filled with a single thing, a young woman with a bow and quiver. Syndra gestured back to the pit in the ground and all the land and plants were put back, as if it never happened. She then turned her full attention to the woman,and released her from the sphere. The young woman abruptly dropped and hit the ground with a thud.  Syndra stared at the woman with dispassionate eyes as she circled around her.  The archer turned over, groaning the whole time while she held her stomach.  Syndra gave a glance back to Irelia who was trying to tend to Riven, and then back at the woman lying on the ground.  She lifted the archer off the ground and into the air, starring her dead in the eyes.

“What’s your name?”

“M-mentiri” The woman responded shakily.

“Well here’s the deal Mentiri.  Answer my questions and you might make it out of here alive, got it?”  Syndra asked in an icy tone that she hadn’t used in years.

Syndra waited a moment. When Mentiri didn’t respond she put her down on the ground with her back to Syndra.  Peering over  Mentiri ’s right shoulder, she brought her left hand in front of her face, tracing an imaginary line on the woman’s face with her fingernail.

“I don’t like it when people ignore me Mentiri.  My time is short, and so is my patience, so I will make this simple.  See that tree over there?”  Syndra asked, pointing at a large lone tree in front of them.  “If I don’t hear the answers I want to hear,” Syndra reached her left hand out in front of her, gesturing towards the tree, and for emphasis slowly clenched her fist.  As she did this the tree in front of her slowly began to crack as it was forcibly crushed from the bottom to the top.  “You will be next.”

“There is poison on that arrow, what did you make it from?”

“I don’t kn—”

There was a loud boom as Syndra obliterated a boulder with her dark spheres.

“Spare me your cliché answers.”  Syndra interrupted, “That right there,” Syndra said turning to look at Riven for a second, “Isn’t a normal response to an arrow wound.  Now I will ask ONE more time, What. Did. You. Make. It. From?”

Squirming Mentiri looked like she was internally conflicted for a second before responding.  “Mountain Laurels…  I coated the arrows in mountain laurels.”

“Not nightshade?  I’m impressed.”

Irelia ran up towards Syndra with Riven on her blades like a stretcher.  “Syndra we have to go, she needs medical attention right now!”  Once Irelia had gotten next to Syndra, she noticed the person that Syndra was holding and gasped.  “Sumona!?  You were the one that shot Riven?  Why?  What did we do that would make you do this?”  After a bit of a pause Irelia continued, “Were you the one that shot Arvile as well?”

“Choose your next words carefully, and hope that it isn’t the wrong answer.”  Syndra commented in an annoyed voice.

Sumona/Mentiri gave a glance to Syndra and then turned her head towards Irelia, making it difficult for Syndra to see her face.  Syndra wasn’t sure but she swore that she saw a smirk start to appear on her face.

“Zed made do it.  Sumona was my undercover name, Mentiri is the name I use back at the order.  He hired me that night to kill you and Riven.  You, Iroh, and Arvile were supposed to get overrun and then I would go into town pleading to her that something was wrong.  After that, leading her into an ambush would have been easy.”  Sumona/Mentiri paused for a few moments, Syndra getting angrier the more this woman spoke.  Surprisingly Irelia’s faced remain impassive, almost unimpressed.  “We didn’t count on Riven actually noticing that something was wrong, when I tried to fix the situation I missed and got Arvile instead.  Again I tried to get you guys by leading you into a trap, but we didn’t count on Syndra being here.”

“We are done here.  Syndra we should go.”  As Irelia spoke she turned to Riven who was laying on her blades like a stretcher.

Syndra raised Sumona/Mentiri off the ground a bit and turned her to face towards her.  “Don’t let me see you again, or you will wish I killed you here.”  When she was finished she tossed her away like a ragdoll a decent distance away.  It wouldn’t kill Sumona/Mentiri, but her landing would sting.

“We need to get her to a hospital.  We could take her to the Placidium but I don’t know if they will have the resources available to treat the poison quick enough.”  Irelia stated as Syndra lifted the three of them into the air.

“That is too far, I have some place closer we can go.”

“Where?  We are in the middle of nowhere.”  Irelia questioned.

“The last place you would expect me to go.”


	18. Consequences

“There’s no way.”  Irelia said as they approached one of the oldest locations in northern Ionia.

Syndra gave a glance back at Irelia before returning her gaze towards their rapidly approaching location.  “What?”

“I don’t doubt that they will help us, but I don’t think that they will appreciate your presence.”

“I’ve got a friend, or two, there.”  Irelia could hear a slight defensiveness or embarrassment in her voice, Irelia wasn’t quite sure which.

“How do you even know-- Syndra you aren’t stopping!  Syndra the ground!”

“Brace for landing.”

Irelia hit the ground feet first and ran for a couple of feet before her momentum carried her too far forward and she ended up falling into a roll.  Irelia got up from the roll effortlessly before using her hands to catch herself against a wall.  Once she had her balance she rolled her shoulders one at a time, rubbing the area where her shoulder pads rubbed against her skin.  Upon turning around she noticed that Syndra was on her back staring up at the sky, the mage wasn’t quite as nimble as the Captain of the Guard so she didn’t take the sudden landing as gracefully.

“You don’t have to hurt yourself to ensure someone else’s safety you know.”  Irelia commented as she walked over to Syndra and Riven.

Riven was still laying on Irelia’s weapon a few feet behind Syndra.  From the looks of it you would never know that Irelia and Syndra had a rough landing.

Off to the side of where the three women had landed a door opened up, a few different men walked out.  Leading them was a shirtless man who had tattoos covering parts of his chest and arms, he was wearing black pants with white stripes, a sash that went around his waist and dropped down in the front to about his knees, white cloth covered his wrist to his forearms and was held together by thick decorative red strings.  The only hair on his head was a goatee and a long piece of braided hair that wrapped loosely around his neck like a necklace.  There was a thick red cloth that went around his head covering his eyes.  By the looks of it he was probably a decade older than Irelia and Syndra, she wasn’t sure why but even though she had never seen him before she felt like she knew who he was.

There was another man to his right who was a bit bigger.  He wore a loose black training uniform that came down to his ankles.  The uniform itself was parted to show the man’s broad chest, and had no sleeves showing off the man's muscular arms.  On the front of the uniform was a giant red bear print, identical to the one on his uniforms left breast.  He wore a moderately sized bracelet on his left wrist and geta on his feet.

Behind the two men were a few students that were dressed in black monk’s robes similar to the man on the right.

“What are you guys standing around gawking for!?  Can’t you see our friend is injured!?”  Syndra’s voice boomed.  Irelia wasn’t sure if she imagined it or not but she thought she felt the ground around them shake.

Irelia looked back at Syndra who had lifted her head looking straight at the man with the red cloth over his eyes.  When she returned her gaze to the man he was looking back at the students and a moment later they were busy moving towards Riven.  Two students already had a stretcher, Irelia figured by the speed at which they grabbed it that they were moving even before they were ordered to help.

“Master Lee, this woman here is Noxian.”  One of the monks said as he stepped away from the other monks.  The rest moved Riven along with the help of Irelia’s blade, eventually carefully placing her on a stretcher that a student had grabbed.  By the speed at which he grabbed it, Irelia guessed that he had went to grab it as soon as he saw Riven’s injury.

“It matters not, take her to Joy in the Infirmary.  Let her know it’s urgent.”  Lee Sin spoke with a face of dead seriousness.

“But Master.”

Lee raised his hand, cutting off anything else that student may have said.  “It matters not where she is from.  If a person comes to us in need we will help them regardless.  Now go catch up with the other students.”  After that he walked passed Irelia and over to Syndra.

“Lee she was poisoned, the person who did it said they used mountain Laurels.”

_ Lee?   _ Irelia looked over the man Syndra dubbed as ‘Lee’ for a second taking his form in one more time.   _ Wait, that’s Lee Sin!?  The monk who set himself on fire in protest to the Noxian occupation of the southern provinces?  What is he doing all the way up here at the Shojin Monastery?  Better yet, how does Syndra know!? _  Irelia’s mind was filled with so much confusion as things didn’t add up, she didn’t even notice the monks behind Lee Sin walk past her and start to take Riven away.

Lee Sin paused and looked over to the other man.  “Udyr, can you inform Joy of this new information and make sure our guests have a place to stay for the night.”  Udyr merely nodded in response and then disappeared into the temple. 

Lee Sin walked over to Syndra who was sitting up now, reached a hand out to her and helped her up.  By the way he carried himself you would never know that he was blind.  

“Thanks”

“You’re welcome Syndra.  Now, what is it that is bothering you?”

“No-Nothing.”  Syndra stammered.  Irelia could tell that she was suppressing a bit of anger and annoyance, but none of it was directed at Lee.

Lee Sin put his hands on his hips and stared at Syndra for a moment.  “It’s okay if you don’t want to talk about it.  But don’t lie to me Syndra.”

Syndra merely pouted in response.

“If not me then at least someone else, like your friend over here.”  Lee Sin motioned towards Irelia with his hand, “Speaking of which, who is your friend over here?”

“Lee this is Irelia.  Irelia, Lee.”  Syndra grumbled.

“It is an honor to meet you Irelia.”  Lee Sin said with a bow.

Irelia returned the bow, “It is an honor to meet someone who helped Ionia out so much during the Noxian Invasion.”

“Why don’t you two come inside and we can talk over some hot tea.  It seems that a storm is going to move in soon.”  Lee Sin said as he motioned inside the temple.

“Tea!? Shouldn’t we be doing something to help Riven, finishing the mission, or at least doing something?  Not just sitting here drinking tea.”  Syndra snapped.

“There isn’t much that we can do.  We can’t leave Riven here by herself, and considering that the third encampment was empty we should go into the last one assuming that the rest of them are there.  And I’m not about to go and jump into the middle of thirty or forty guys trying to take them all on.”  Unlike Syndra, Irelia kept her voice calm.

“So we are just going to sit here and do nothing?”

“We don’t have much choice until Riven is better.”

After that Syndra turned and started to walk away.

“Where are you going?”  Irelia called.

“To blow off some steam.”  Syndra called back as she pushed off the ground and started to float away.

Irelia started to move to go after her when she felt a hand on her shoulder.  When she turned around to look she saw that it was Lee’s, he looked at her and merely shook his head.

“Just let her have some space for now.  There is nothing more we can do to help her for now.”

Irelia gave a glance back at Syndra and then to Lee, “Are you sure?”

Lee merely chuckled in response, “I am never sure when it comes to that girl.”

“How exactly do you know her anyway?”

“That is a long story.”

“I’ve got time.”

* * *

 

Syndra flew high up into the sky, overlooking the landscape trying to recall the map that Irelia had shown her a few days ago.  Irelia may have been content with sitting around, waiting, but Syndra wasn’t.  Originally she cared not for the task that they had been given, she really only followed along because of Irelia and a lack of anything better to do.  Syndra squinted as a gust of wind buffeted her in the face.  Lee Sin was right, she could see a storm that was slowly approaching from the sea.  She chuckled to herself a bit at the irony of the situation.  Finding the landmark that she was looking for, Syndra headed over in that direction.

After a few minutes of flying, Syndra reached her destination.  She was on top of a cliff, overlooking the camp of mercenaries.  From a glance it seemed to Syndra that there were about two dozens tents scattered throughout the encampment.  Though there didn’t seem to be any organized movement going on; some were cooking there next meal, others polishing their weapons or armor, doing whatever they would do to pass the time.

_ I could use a distraction.   _ Syndra thought to herself.

She turned around to look at the mountainside, scanning it for anything that could be useful to her.  After scanning the mountain side for a minute, she found a decent size boulder.  Syndra walked up to it and put her hand on it, sliding it down the side of the boulder.

_ This will do. _

Closing her eyes for a second, Syndra took in a deep breath.  As she exhaled, she released all of her self imposed constraints on her magic.  Syndra hated having anyone try to control or take away her magic, however she was forced to restrain her magic to a certain extent.  If she didn’t then the aura around her would be so thick with magic that it would make anyone with any sort of affinity for magic around her sick.  Syndra exhaled slowly as she could feel her magic fill the air.  There was no physical indication of its presence that most people could see, but she could tell that it was there.  Syndra knew that this was all overkill, especially for a bunch of mercenaries, but she didn’t care.  After how bad her day was , she really needed to blow off some steam and these mercenaries just happen to be the cause of most of her current problems.  

Syndra pushed off the ground and floated a decent distance into the air.  Then she turned around, lifting her arm up into the air she used her magic to pick up the boulder.  Syndra brought her arm up and over her in a wide arc, eventually settling her hand pointing at the center of the camp.  As her hand moved the boulder followed, eventually coming crashing down into the center of the mercenary camp in a cloud of dust.

* * *

 

Irelia watched as Lee Sin prepared a cup of tea for each of them.

“So what made you take her in?  Rather than throw her out?”  Irelia asked.  “From what you told me, a lot of your fellow monks wanted to get rid of her once they learned that she was the Dark Sovereign.  It would have been a lot easier to ask her to leave.”

“She didn’t seem like a bad person.”

“That’s it?”  Irelia said after a short period of silence.  “There has to be more to it than that.”

“What do you see when you look at Syndra?”

Irelia thought to herself for a moment


	19. Repercussions Part 1

Zed walked out of his shadow portal into his room.  Not a moment later he ripped his mask off and threw it onto his bed before pacing around the room.  Off to the side his shadow manifested itself in the corner of the room leaning up against the wall.

“Who does that woman thinks she is shoving me away like that!”

**_“I think she thinks she is The Dark Sovereign.  And she’d be right!”  The shadow commented chipperly._ **

Zed continued ranting not heeding the shadow any attention.  “After all of the stuff I’ve done for her over the years.  Teaching her how to cook, helping her learn how to sew,”

**_“Technically if you hadn’t kidnapped her neither of those would have been an issue.”_ **

“Putting up with her public indecency,”

**_“It’s not public indecency if she’s inside her own home, err fortress.”_ **

“And her lack of social manners!  Oh the lack of manners!”

**_“Again, your fault.”_ **

“You’re not helping!  Smartass.”

The shadow manifested itself next to Zed and wrapped his ghostly arm around Zed.   **_“You know, you seem a bit tense.  You know what you need?  A vacation!  How about it, get some me time.  Some_ ** **_we_ ** **_time.”_ **

“What do you mean by  _ we _ time.”

The shadow released Zed from his embrace, and began to pace, casually gesturing his response.

**_“You know: a little destruction, some mayhem, furthering my…I mean OUR cause.”_ **

Zed shifted in thought for a moment, “You know what.  I haven’t done anything for me in forever.  It’s constantly been ‘Zed make me food’, ‘Zed buy me that’, ‘Where’s my headdress.’”

**_“Remember what I said a long time ago about bowing to her whims?  Yeah this is what I was talking about.”_ **

“Pfft.  I give it a few days before she needs me again and we are right back where we started.”

**_“Now now, let’s not start talking crazy here.  I’ve got a spare ticket to a nice temple that has your name written ALL over it.”_ **

“What’s the catch?”

**_“Catch?  What catch?  Unlike you I actually spent my free time wisely, this temple happens to house clerics of Ar’Syn.”_ **

“And why do I care?”

**_“Because Ar’Syn and their followers happens to hate shadows.  Sun bathing hippies, think of them as the Ionian version of the Solari.”_ **

“Now with that awful image purged from my mind, why do I care?  Last time I checked you needed the sun’s shadows to exist.”

**_“Euphemisms are lost on you aren’t they?  They enjoy long walks on the beach, praising the sun, and DESTROYING.  DARK. BEINGS.  AKA US.”_ **

“And you waited to tell me this now…why?”

The shadow stopped his pacing and turned directly to face Zed. His response was tinged with annoyance, and perhaps even a little anger.

 

**_“Why all the questions now?  You would have known this AGES ago had you not spent your days playing nurse-maid to a child.  We are so close to our goal Zed.  I just need your cooperation this one time.”_ **

“Okay, well what do I need to do?”

The shadow seemed to blink, in astonishment at Zed’s easy acceptance.

**_“Really?  You’re agreeing to help me?”_ **

“Yes.  I’d rather complete something like this personally.”

Zed noticed the shadow’s features change slightly.

_ Was that a grin? _

**_“Finally.  I’ve been waiting for you to say that for FOREVER.”_ **

“Wait, what?”

**_“It’s great that I don’t have to answer your questions anymore.  Nighty night.”_ **

With that, the shadows smirk was burned into Zed’s mind as everything went dark.

 

* * *

 

“Where’s your friend?”  Riven’s nurse questioned as she walked into the room.

“I’m sorry?”  Irelia asked as she bookmarked her page and put it down in her lap.

Irelia had been lost reading a book that Lee Sin had recommended to her that she didn’t even notice the nurse walk into the room.

“The woman who brought you here.  I thought that she would be in here with you.”

“She’s outside somewhere.  She needed some time to herself for a while.  Lee said he was going to go visit her a little while ago.”

“I see.  Well if you want you can go to your room and sleep if you want.  We will let you know if she wakes up.”

“Thanks.”  Irelia responded as she turned to the nurse, “But I think that I would rather stay here for the night.”

“Suit yourself.  When you eventually wake up stiff from sleeping wrong go down the hall and take the second door on your left.  Leliana will take care of you.”

 

* * *

 

**Later that night**

Irelia laid curled over the bed that Riven was resting in, half passed out.  The book that she was reading had fallen somewhere on the bed long ago.  She could tell that when she woke up the next day that she was going to be stiff, but at this point she was too tired to care. When she was finally about to fall asleep she heard an odd sound far off into the distance.  The only way that she could describe it was that it reminded her of a horn, but it was unlike any horn that she had ever heard.  Shortly after that the familiar calm of the night returned, and Irelia finally was able to sleep.

 

* * *

 

Zed opened his eyes.  Off into the distance he saw the outline of a barely lit up temple in the darkness.

_ A temple?  Wasn’t I just in my room?   _ An eerie feeling fell into the pit of Zed’s stomach as everything faded into darkness once more.

* * *

 

_ Riven and Kat sat on the roof of Riven’s apartment watching the celebration going on in the distance.  Noxus had declared a while back that they were going to war with Ionia, and tonight was the last night before the bulk of the army was going to be shipped out.  In true Noxian style, and to raise the morale of the troops, a festival was being held in honor of those being shipped out. _

_ “I still don’t know why you joined the ground forces.” _

_ “I’m sorry that I’m not a part of the Crimson Elite like SOME people.”  Riven responded. _

_ “That’s the thing.  You could probably get in if you wanted to, that...thing...over there is proof.  Darkwill wouldn’t have given it to you if you weren’t worthy.” _

_ “What’s wrong with my zweihander?” _

_ “It fucking glows.  Swords don’t glow.  Not to mention it’s from Darkwill, he never does anything ‘out of kindness.’  There’s always a plan for him.” _

_ “I like it, I think it suits me.  All he’s doing is making sure that I’m taken care of.” _

_ “No.  Making sure you’re taken care of is giving you three decent meals a day.  This.”  Kat said as she motioned to the room below them. “And that sword are an ulterior motive.  This apartment is almost as good as my room.  Almost.  This is better than what most soldiers will have for their entire service.” _

_ Riven chuckled, “Oh good to know that my entire apartment is almost as good as your bedroom.” _

_ “You’re missing the point, the point is that your talent is being wasted on the front line.  I mean you wouldn’t be as good as I am, but I think you could at least beat out my brother.” _

_ Riven waved her hand dismissively, “I’ll leave all that sneaky sneaky stabby stabby stuff to you and Talon.  Unlike you,” Riven said as she pointed towards Kat, “I actually enjoy being on the front line.” _

_ “Not that I’m worried that you’re going to die to a bunch of zen freaks with sticks, but that’s going to get you killed some day.” _

_ “Not that I don’t appreciate you actually being concerned for once, but what brought this on?  I’ve gone on campaigns before, hell at least you know where I will be.”  Annoyance seeped into Riven’s voice.  “Half the time you’ll leave for weeks at a time without giving a clue as to where you’ve been!”   _

_ Katarina’s voice was beginning to sharpen with anger as well. _

_ “You know I’m not allowed to tell anyone where I’m going.  Security risk, personal safety, and all that.” _

_ “Three fucking years, and more than half that time I don’t know where you are!  Weeks go by and I don’t know if you will ever return.  I have no way of knowing whether you’re alive or dead, it’s not like anyone would tell me if you did either.” _

_ “Pfft.  As if anyone could ever get that close to hurting me.” _

_ “That’s not the point.” _

_ “Talon was right, you really are like a mother.  Anyway, how did you turn this around on me?  This was supposed to be about you.” _

_ “Technically this was about you having control issues, and me leaving is out of your control.  But yeah it is totally about me.” _

_ Kat swung her leg over top of Riven, straddling her as she had done so often in the past.  “Excuse me, but I have just the right amount of control issues.”  Katarina leaned down and whispered in Riven’s ear, “Now I just have to remind you why you should come back to me.”  After that she slowly kissed her way down Riven’s neck. _

 

* * *

 

“What are you doing here vile-demon?”

“Awe I’m hurt.  Didn’t you miss me?”

_ Was that my voice? _

“No.”  The voice said flatly.

“Now aren’t we the boring one.”  Zed’s voice came out in a flat, disappointed tone.  Following this was the familiar schink of Zed’s wrist blades. 

Zed didn’t get any more glimpses of the events that night, but he could smell blood, more than that he could FEEL it on him.  Also a new smell that took him a moment to realize what it was.  Smoke.

 

* * *

 

Riven shot up in the bed, breathing heavily.  This was followed by the sound of a muffled thud as she could a weight shift down towards her legs.  Riven’s body was drenched in a cold sweat, but that was the last thing on her mind as a flurry of memories popped into her mind.  Riven slammed her fist against the wall next to her bed in anger and self-loathing.  She immediately recoiled and curled up on her side as pain shot up her arm.

Riven questioned why her arm hurt so much as she cursed at the pain under her breath.

“That looked like it hurt, hold on a minute while I grab you something to relieve the pain.”  A voice said behind Riven.

She could hear the sound of footsteps walking behind her and the sound of a cabinet opening up.  After a bit of rummaging and a few quiet seconds following the footsteps came up behind Riven.  Using her good arm she propped herself up so she was stable, grabbed the concoction in the person’s hand, and chugged it down without giving it a second glance.  A shiver went up Riven’s spine as the foul taste settled into her mouth.

“Wow.  That was impressive.”

Riven finally looked into the face of the person next to her.  It was an older Ionian woman whose graying black hair was tied back in a bun.  She had soft facials features, along with a light tan that was complimented by her rough hands that Riven had felt when she took the cup.

“What is?”

“It’s not often that people wake up here and act so calm.  Nor do they often send their friends flying half way across the bed either.”

Riven looked at the nurse quizzically before glancing down towards her legs, where Irelia was sprawled across the floor, miraculously still asleep.

“How do people normally wake up here?”

“Most become nervous, some even draw a blade.”

“Ah I see.  So where are we that people commonly wake up here with blades in hand?”

“Just a temple in the mountains, nowhere extravagant.  Quite a few people like to hike the mountains around here, and often they are more unprepared then they realize.”

“I can relate to that.”

“So why are you so calm child?”

“Well, if you wanted me dead then I already would be.  The fact that you went through the trouble to actually change my clothes reinforces that.  As for the concoction,” Riven grunted in pain as she laid herself onto the pillows propped up behind her.  “There are worse ways to die than poison.  Besides my blade is nearby and that is a comfort in and of itself.”

“Hmm.  How is that you know your blade is nearby, yet can’t feel a friend sleeping practically on top of you?”

“It’s hard to describe.  I’ve had that blade for…let’s see…eight years now?  After a while it just becomes a part of you.”

“Hmm.  You warriors are such a peculiar bunch.  Enough chit chat though, you are probably starving by this point.  I am going to go grab you something to eat.”

 

* * *

_ Blood?  Why do I smell blood? _

Zed watched as his arms moved of their own accord to clean the blood off the blade.

_ When did my blade get covered in it?  Why am I covered in it?  Who is controlling my body? _

 

* * *

 

**A few days later**

“Ahhhhhhhhhh, I’m going crazy here.”  Syndra complained as she ran her hands back and forth through her hair.

“I’m the one stuck in a bed till my shoulder heals and you are the one going crazy?”  Riven teased at Syndra.

“Sorry, but there is only so much to do.  I either help Lee, or spend time with Irelia.”

“I thought you liked Irelia, wasn’t that half the point of everything you have done so far?  Have you really made zero progress with her?”

“I don’t know!”  Syndra blurted out in frustration as she started to pace back and forth in front of Riven’s bed.  “I have no idea how to take half the responses that she gives me.  I can’t tell if she likes it, is embarassed, or hates it but she’s too polite to say anything.”

“Have you tried actually telling her?”

“That’s what Lee said!”

“And?”

“I tried!  But I got really nervous, my insides got all warm and fuzzy, it felt like butterflies were flying in my stomach and I started too-”

“Float away?”

“Yeah!  How did you know?”  A moment of silence passed and Riven merely stared up at Syndra.  “Riven?  When did you get on the ground?”

“I didn’t, you're floating away again.”

“See!”  Syndra said as she put herself back down onto the ground.  “I was halfway into the clouds last time before I realized what was happening!”

“You know.  I really didn’t peg you as the nervous type.”  Riven said rubbing her chin in thought for a moment.  After that she shrugged her shoulders and responded, “ I mean if all else fails you could just kiss her.  I feel like that would get the point across pretty well.”

“How do you expect me to kiss her if I can’t even talk to her without floating away?”

Riven shook her head, “After literally EVERYTHING that you have done to her I would think that kissing her would be easy.  Alright pay attention carefully.”

* * *

 

_ Again? Where am I now? Why can’t I see? _

 

* * *

 

 

**The Next Night**

Irelia and Syndra were laying on the hills a few hundred feet outside the temple.

“Whoa.  You were right the sunset is beautiful from here.  How did you find this spot?”  Irelia asked.

“Lee showed me this spot a few years ago.”

“I thought he was blind?”

“He wasn’t always blind.  Sometimes I would come to him an emotional wreck from something or another.  We would come up here just the two us and just seeing the smile on his face as we watched the sunset would put me at ease.”

“Sounds lovely.”

“Yeah.  It was.”  Syndra sat up suppressing some old memories.   _ Come on Syndra, keep it together. _  Syndra pointed in front of Irelia to constellation off to the east.  “See that one over there?”

“The Lion?”

“Yeah.  That one was always my favorite.”

“How come?  Because it represented a fuzzy creature?”

“Promise not to laugh?”

“Um...yeah?”

“When I was younger at home part of the constellation was obscured so I thought it was a duck.”

Irelia burst out laughing for a moment.

“Hey you said you wouldn’t laugh!”

“Sorry I know I know.”  Irelia said between laughs, “But my brother did the same exact thing.  He was so proud of himself that he would show anyone who would listen to him about how he could always find his ‘duck in the sky.’  It took my dad a long time to get up the courage to tell him that it actually was a lion.”

The next few minutes passed by in silence as they watched the finish setting.

Nervousness began to take hold in the pit of Syndra’s stomach as she realized that Irelia probably would want to head back soon. 

“I-I-I-Irelia”  Syndra stuttered closing her eye’s in nervousness.

“Yes Syndra?”

“I I I I I”  Syndra cursed to herself,   _ Not again, screw it plan B. _

Without even thinking Syndra tried to fling herself on top of Irelia.  Unfortunately she didn’t realize Irelia had sat herself up as well so she ended up colliding with Irelia’s shoulder and falling onto her back next to Irelia.  Syndra closed her eyes as her face burned for a second.

“Oh my, are you alright Syndra?”  Irelia asked.

Syndra opened her eyes only to find Irelia’s face extremely close to her as she was attempting to find any kind of mark on Syndra’s face in the low light.  Syndra’s heart rate quickened, it was so loud to her that she expected Irelia to make a comment on it any second now.

_ “I’m only going to show you this once okay?”  Riven said _

_ Syndra nodded. _

_ “If you fail at everything else just do this” _

Syndra reached up and got ahold of Irelia’s shirt and pulled her down.  She didn’t stop until she felt Irelia’s soft lips press up against her own.  Even then she didn’t immediately loosen her grip.  This was a moment that Syndra was going to remember for a long time.


	20. It's Never That Easy

**Kat**

Katarina walked through Noxian High Command towards the Grand General’s office.  The hallways were decently lit by hextech lights, red carpets line the stone floors, and the walls were adorned with various declarations of war and wealth.  Kat had walked through these halls enough times that she barely gave the objects a second glance.  She had also walked these halls enough to know that the path she was taking wasn’t the most direct route.  As she was walking a chill ran up her spine.

_Would it kill them them to get some decent heating in this place?_

After a few minutes of walking, and some twists and turns, Kat finally made it to the entrance to the Grand General’s office.  Kat was a moderately tall woman, but compared to the doors in front of her she looked like a child.  As she opened the door, it slid quietly along the floor with a bit of effort.

Directly in front of her was a desk with stacks of papers on both sides.  Behind the desk was a circular tinted window that was twice Kat’s height.  In the middle of the window was a red tinted battleaxe, the symbol of Noxus.  The window overlooked all of Noxus, to the east was the district for all of the citizens.  The district was broken up into different quarters based upon the family’s standing in Noxus, starting with the middle class and military barracks and stretching out to the lower class towards Noxus’ port.  Towards the middle of the city is where all of the shops were located.  Kat wasn’t sure of everything that was in that district since she didn’t go there often, but judging by how much Cassiopeia spent and how frequently she visited it must have been a variety of stuff.  To the west was the upper class, and higher ranking military officials.  Towering over the upper classes houses was the Du Couteau mansion, one of Noxus’ oldest standing building.

After looking around at the nicknacks that Swain had scattered throughout his office, Kat got bored and decided to make herself comfortable on top of one of his bookcases.  She took out both of her knives and a whetstone, going to work on sharpening her knives while she waited for the grand general's return.

**A little while later**

Kat wasn’t sure how long it had taken for Swain to return to his office, but it was enough time for her to get bored and start to doze off.  The man wobbled into his office wearing Noxus’ standard formal military garb.  It consisted of black pants and a thick black button up coat that had three thin red stripes going up the middle of the uniform.

“I better not find any carvings on the top of my bookshelves.” Swain grunted as he entered the room.

Kat gave a quick glance down at one of the crude drawings that she carved into the bookshelf and then returned her attention back to Swain.

Swain continued, “Also would it kill you to actually wait in a chair like a normal person?”

“It might actually.  If this place had some decent heating l might have considered it.” 

Swain huffed as he went over to his desk starting on his paperwork.  Without even looking up at Kat he asked, “I trust you know why I have called you here Ms. Du Couteau.” 

“I trust it has something to deal with that wave of magic that has had the people enamored for the past few days.”  Kat said matter of factly.

“Correct.  Our mages have determined that it came from somewhere in Ionia.  Find the source, figure out if it is a threat to us, and when you do, eliminate it.  You will be leaving on the first ship out of Noxus once winter has broken.” 

Kat looked out the window as snow steadily began to fall onto the ground.  Due to Noxus’...unique geographic make up, Noxian winters got harsh quickly.  The waters around the port had to be close to freezing by this time. 

“You don’t want to try to capture, or recruit whoever caused it?  No using it as a pawn in one of your little games like you love to do?” 

“No.” 

_That was a useful response._  

“Why are you giving me this mission now then?”  Kat responded curtly.  “And why are you sending me instead of someone else like Talon?  You know he loves to deal with mages.” 

“Because there is something on that island that may be of interest to you.” 

“I doubt it, but humor me.” 

Using his free hand Swain pushed a moderately sized folder to the opposite side of the desk.  Kat jumped down from her spot on the bookshelf and made her way over to Swain’s desk. 

“What’s this”  Kat asked as she started to pick out and scan over random documents.  “The reports on Riven and Fury squad?”  Kat looked up at Swain for a second, “I’ve seen this several times already.  She died in Ionia a few years ago.” 

“Keep reading.” 

Kat sighed inwardly, not seeing any point in looking over documents again.  Unfortunately she didn’t really have much choice in the matter.  She may not always trust Swain, but she knew that everything he did had a purpose behind it.  Coincidentally that purpose was exactly why she distrusted Swain.  He always had a plan, every move he made was carefully planned out.  And what did every plan need?  Pawns, and if there was anything that Kat wasn’t, it was a pawn. 

Kat didn’t think that she was going to like where this was going.  At this point though she didn’t have much choice but to play along.  At least for now…  As she continued skimming through the documents she found what Swain had wanted her to find, and when she did it felt like someone had punched her in the stomach.  She read the report over and over again, expecting the words to change or for her to wake up and find out that this was all a cruel dream.

“S-She’s alive?”  Kat muttered in the most even voice she could manage.

The only response she got was a mixture of silence with the occasional sound of Swain signing or writing something on a piece of paper.  Kat forced herself to keep reading onwards, taking note of every timestamp as she scanned through the documents. 

_That bastard has known she’s been alive for years now!_  

Kat tried to keep her anger in check, but the more she read the more pissed off she got. 

“Why didn’t you fucking let me know from the start that she was alive!” 

“Once it became clear that she had no interest in coming back to Noxus that became irrelevant information.” 

“Irrelevant information!?  For the past few years I thought she was a charred corpse in the ground!  You didn’t think that maybe, just maybe, I would want to know that she was actually alive!?”  Kat had to stop herself from practically yelling her last statement. 

Swain momentarily took his attention away from the paperwork in front of him, and for the first time that night looked Kat in the eye’s.  “And what would you have done with that information had you learned she was alive?  Would you have gone to Ionia and tried to bring her back?  If she wanted to come back she would have done that long ago.” 

“Well for one I wouldn’t have gotten consistently drunk out of my fucking mind trying to forget the pain.  Talon didn’t sleep for a month from all the extra missions he had to take up.  The missions that I actually did do probably wouldn’t have had nearly half as many casualties.” 

“You would have killed those people regardless.  The only difference is that at least when you thought she was dead your anger had direction.” 

Kat caught herself before she did something stupid in her seething anger.  A few moments later she tried to calm herself down.  She took an inward sigh, realizing that shouting at Swain was getting her no where. 

Regaining the calmness in her voice Kat asked, “So why you so interested in whoever caused this ‘shock wave’ of magic to go off?  I felt it and it didn’t feel like much.”

“If you had an affinity to magic then you would have.” 

Kat was about to refute his point, but he was right.  She had little talent when it came to magic, the little bit of magic she could use wasn’t that impressive.  Luckily Swain’s response had given her an idea. 

“So what did you feel then Swain?  Does this mage worry you?”  Kat grinned inwardly when she saw Swain falter a moment in his writing.   _Good._  She may not be adept at magic, but Swain was.  If what he had been implying was true then he must have felt it. 

“I felt it, but I am not worried about it.  Though it could become a nuisance later so that is why you will take care of this now.  If you have no more questions for me then you are dismissed.” 

While Swain’s words seemed confident, they lacked the conviction that they had earlier.  It seemed that he wasn’t sure if he even believed the words he was speaking, a rare instance for the Grand General. 

“It seems I hit a sore spot,” Kat said arrogantly, “but have it your way.  What shall I do when I find Riven?” 

“Bring her back or kill her, I care not.  Dismissed.” 

With that Kat turned on her heel and left.  A minute or two down the hall she ran into Darius.  When Darius saw her walking his way he let out a sigh. 

“What?  Not happy to see me?”  Kat responded with a feigned smile. 

“You left the grand general in a bad mood AGAIN, didn’t you.”  Darius stated. 

“Does he even have a good mood?  I thought the only mood he had was annoyed, and slightly less annoyed.”  Kat paused for a moment, “Kind of like you.” 

“Very funny.”  Darius said curtly.  “Do you actually have something useful to say or are you just wasting my time.” 

_If only Riven was here...she was so much more interesting than all these career military men and politicians she always had to deal with._

“Actually yes.” 

Darius responded with a grunt and then started to lean on the wall next to Kat.  Kat responded by leaning on the wall directly across from him, satisfied he wouldn’t leave now. 

“What do you want?” 

_Why does he always sound pissed off?_  

“What did you think of Riven?” 

The way Darius subtly moved Kat could tell that her question had caught him off guard.  Other than that he still spoke with the same annoyed tone he always had. 

“It matters not what I think of the dead.” 

“What if I told you that she wasn’t?” 

“Then that would make you a liar.  We’ve both know what happened, there was no way she survived.  It is time to move on Kat.” 

“She--” 

“Drop it Kat.  It has been long enough.” 

“Don’t interrupt me!  Look, I could care less if you believe me.  I just need your opinion on something.” 

“What?” 

_I didn’t think it was possible, but he sounded even more annoyed that time._  

“Say Riven WAS alive for a second.  What would be the repercussions of her coming back after all this time?” 

Darius leaned back against the wall, averting his gaze towards the wall rather than Kat for while he thought about her question.  After a minute or two he finally answered her question. 

“She is either welcomed back as a hero and the model Noxian warrior; or imprisoned, judged, and most likely killed for abandoning the army.” 

“What’s more likely the former or the latter?” 

“The latter.  She would be nothing but a memory of a failed war to the politicians here.” 

Kat contemplated for a moment before pushing herself off the wall and walking away. 

“Thanks.”

* * *

_Smoke again, What’s going on? We already destroyed that temple_

 

* * *

 

**Irelia**

Irelia was bent over, her lips locked to Syndra’s.  For the moment her mind was blank as she was enjoying the moment.  An unknown amount of time passed before she remembered exactly what she was doing and who she was with. 

_OH FUCK, OH FUCK, OH FUCK!_  

Abruptly she pulled away and sat back on the ground with her hands on her head. 

“Hey...I was enjoying that.”  Syndra huffed. 

Still a little breathless Irelia gasped “No, no, no, no, no.  This isn’t right.  I’m sorry, I have to leave.”  Irelia got up and tried to walk away but she was quickly forced back down to the ground next to Syndra. 

“You aren’t going anywhere without some sort of explanation!”

“I think I am the one who needs some sort of explanation.  You just attacked me with your mouth!” 

“Well...yeah that’s called a kiss.  It isn’t like I didn’t give you any warning.” 

“Where was the warning!?” 

“Let’s see….I saw you, I liked you, I flirted with you, failed, flirted harder, failed, tried physical contact, still no signs, asked for advice, used that advice, and here we are!” 

_Wait, what?  Did she really?_  All of the memories of Syndra messing with her rushed to the forefront of Irelia’s mind. 

“You’ve….been trying since the Harrowing!?  We didn’t even know each other then!”  Irelia uttered in disbelief. 

Syndra tapped her finger to her chin in a moment of thought, “Yes actually.  You looked super cute in purple so I figured that I would give it a shot, gotta say I didn’t expect you to be such a prominent figure head.  Normally I have a special hatred for Ionian political figures, but for you I made an exception!” 

“This doesn’t make any sense!”  Irelia exclaimed as she gestured wildly with her arms, “Did you just like me for my looks?  You didn’t even know me and you were hitting on me!  I thought we were friends?  I thought that you actually wanted to help me get rid of the bandits plaguing our home!?  Do you even like me for who I am?  Or am I just some sort of ‘cute’ trophy to you?  Even if we did end up together how would this even work?  You are literally the most infamous person in Ionia, and you’re friends with Mr. number two!  Granted you two aren’t speaking right now...BUT how did you think this was going to happen?  The government just magically forgiving you for your crimes against Ionia and letting us live happily ever after?  Really?  You think things are going to be okay?  Things are never okay!” 

Syndra stared at Irelia with an expression that could only be described as blank yet confused. 

“One.  Was that a yes or a no to liking me?  I’m getting a very weird vibe here… and Two!  Can you please ask those questions one at a time?  I thought of an answer to one of your questions and when I came back part way through I was just really confused.”

Irelia screamed in frustration.

“Hm...I could be wrong but I think you’re feeling a bit stressed out right now.  So I am just going to give you the only answer I’ve got so far.  If I was only going after you for your looks I would have given up A LONG time ago.  Seriously it took me kissing you to figure out that anything was going on.  You’re cute, but your looks alone aren’t worth all that effort.”

Irelia heard what Syndra said but didn’t give her much of a response, too many questions were floating around in her head right now.

“Okay look, I’m going to give you some time to yourself so you can think things over.”  With that Syndra turned and slowly started to float away towards the temple.  As she was floating away she turned back towards Irelia.  She couldn’t help but look at Syndra as she used the most serious tone that Irelia had ever heard from her.

“And just so you know how I really feel about you, to me you are a celestial light burning through the darkness that has been encompassing my life since I was taken from my

With that Syndra floated away into the darkness towards the temple.

Internally Irelia screamed as she plopped backwards onto the ground in a daze.

_That doesn’t help at all!  Now I’m just more confused then I was when we started this conversation!  And now I feel really bad because that was the most beautiful thing anyone has ever said about me...._

* * *

 

“Thank you all for so promptly responding to the emergency summons.”  Head Elder Soma declared. 

Karma, along with the remaining nine elders, nodded in acceptance.  Karma was sitting on the dias farthest to the left of Head Elder Soma who was in the middle.  The remaining elders were seated in no particular order on the dias. 

“As you have been made aware, three temples have been completely eradicated.  However, an eyewitness has come forward with the murderer's identity.” 

One of the elders chimed in, “Murderer?  Don’t you mean army?  Surely this couldn’t be the work of one man?” 

“Are you finished interrupting me? Good.  Yes, it is was an individual.  Someone you all know very well.”  Head Elder Soma declared. 

“Was it The Dark Sovereign?  What reason would she have to attack them?”  Another elder questioned.

“It was not her, however the true killer is just as bad.  Shen.  Your report please.”

From off to the side near the door, Shen stepped into the middle of the room.  Karma had to do a double take for a moment, she had been there over 10 minutes now and she hadn’t seen the ninja enter the room.

“After talking with a survivor, and examining the bodies of the deceased, we have concluded that the murderer is none other than the Master of Shadows himself.  His motives are unclear at the moment, however the evidence is clear that Zed, The Master of Shadows, is responsible for this.”

“What evidence do we have to support this claim?”

“Are you questioning The Eye of Twilights investigative skills Elder Komi?”  Head Elder Soma responded curtly.

“No Ma’am.  It is just that blaming The Dark Sovereign or Master of Shadows is a little too convenient for any tragedy.”

Before Head Elder Soma could responded Shen raised his hand up towards her to silence her.

“If I may, Head Elder Soma.” 

When she nodded her head Shen Continued,

“The corpses had stab marks and slashes along their back from a two pronged blade reminiscent of Zed’s wrist blades.  While there were no shurikens on any of the bodies, some of them displayed signs of them being their cause of death.”

_What could he possibly be trying to accomplish?  Zed has always been focused on hunting down the Kinkou order, so why would he switch targets now?_ The evidence that it was Zed was overwhelming, but Karma couldn’t feel that something was missing.  As Karma zoned back in Shen was just finishing his report. 

“Finally, there was a survivor at one of the temples.”  Shen paused a moment as everyone took in his statement.  “He said that Zed intentionally left him alive just so he could give his message.  ‘This is only the beginning, your darkest days are yet to come.’ ” 

“Thank you for your report Shen.  All those who vote to send aid to the remaining temples, raise your hand.” 

“Pardon my interruption Head Elder Soma, but that isn’t possible.  The eyewitness was a traveler who was merely staying the night at the temple.  There are no longer any temples or acolytes of Ar’Syn left in Ionia.”

* * *

 

Riven winced as she tried to stretch out shoulder. 

_Ouch...Yeah, Soraka definitely is going to have to take a look at my shoulder when we get back._  

Riven tried to start doing some of her sword exercises, but was interrupted when Syndra barged into the infirmary and fell face first onto the bed. 

_Ah...crap...this is going to suck._  

“Did the kiss go that badly?” 

Syndra’s response came out as a neutral groan. 

“Alright so the kiss wasn’t so bad then.  How about after the kiss?”

This time the groan could only be described as the sound of defeat. 

“Okay...did she at least respond to it?” 

Syndra nodded her head at first, then shook her head no, and ended with a shrug. 

_What?_  

“So...she got the message but didn’t know how to take it?” 

Syndra hesitantly shook her head in agreement. 

_Wow, how did I guess that?_  

“Alright, can you tell me what happened?”  Riven said slowly 

Syndra turned over to face towards Riven. 

Internally Riven winced, _Oh...that...that is the face of defeat._  

Syndra recalled the events of the night to Riven.  Everything from when they moment they left, the start of the stargazing, her failing to jump on Irelia, their Kiss, Irelia’s overwhelming confusion, and Syndra’s confession. 

“Alright, well this is pretty bad advice but there isn’t much you can do right now.  Just let Irelia sort herself out for a bit.” 

Syndra groaned, “How long is that going to take?  The waiting is killing me already…” 

“I don’t know.  But I’m pretty sure Irelia hasn’t ever been in a relationship before, so this is all probably really confusing for her.” 

“You’re right.” 

Riven tilted her head slightly in confusion. 

“That was terrible advice”

 Riven laughed slightly, “Sorry, but I don’t think there is much you can do right now but wait.” 

“Aaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhh…I want to go home.”  Syndra groaned. 

“To your home or Irelia’s?” Riven was met with silence so she tried again. “Syndra?” 

Syndra turned over onto her stomach, putting her chin on the pillow in front of her. 

“I actually don’t know the answer to that question.” 

Riven nodded her head in agreement for a moment, then admitted, “That doesn’t help at all.” 

Syndra sighed and got up, “Thanks for your help Riven, but I think I need to be alone for a bit now.”  Shortly after Riven was left alone in the room again. 

Riven started to work on her sword exercises but she was interrupted again, this time by Irelia.

“Hey...how’s the shoulder?” 

“Better, I think I’m going to have to visit Soraka though if I want to have any hope of it being able to use it fully again.  Thanks for bringing me here, if you and Syndra hadn’t, I probably wouldn’t even be able to do this much.” 

“You’re welcome.”  Irelia said with a smile that never quite reached her eyes.  After that a short silence fell between them.  “Hey, can I ask you a question about Syndra?” 

“Of course.”  Riven responded. 

_Ugh...why did I all of sudden become their relationship counselor?_  

“Syndra kissed me earlier, and in hindsight has been flirting a lot with me lately.  But I don’t know how to feel about her.” 

“Alright, well lets start with this, how was the kiss?” 

Irelia rubbed her arm and looked down at the ground, “Soft, I forgot where I was for a few moments.  It was like all of my problems had washed away...” 

“So it went well.  I don’t see the problem here.”  Riven said as she sat down in a chair and crossed her arms, an unamused expression on her face. 

“But Syndra and I could never be together.” 

“Why not?  And don’t tell me that you don’t know how to reject her, because I know for a fact that that is a lie.  I’ve seen you reject suitors before, you rejected one on this trip.  That whole time Syndra was terrified until you sent him away, I thought she was going to have a heart attack.” 

“It’s not like she couldn’t have gotten rid of him anyway with her magic…” 

“Yeah, she could have.  But you know what?  She didn’t.  Because she wanted to win you over as Syndra, not because of her magic.  She would have rather lost you to someone else then to have won through using her magic.” 

Irelia shrunk a bit under Riven’s gaze.  She guessed that Irelia wasn’t expecting her to stick up for Syndra so much. 

“Give me some good reasons why you two can’t be together.  If I can’t refute your points then I won’t bother you about it.  However, if I win then you have to give a relationship with Syndra serious consideration, and a straight answer.” 

Irelia nodded in response, after a few moments she gave her first response.  “Syndra told me that she only started flirting with me because she thought I was cute, I don’t even know if she likes me for who I am.”  Her voice was a bit uneasy. 

“Do you think she would have put in this much effort for just your looks?  The fact that she went on this trip, when she frankly has no reason to help this country out at all.  That alone is a testament to her feelings.  If that is not enough then how about the fact that she went out of her way to learn the most effective ways to tease you so that you would smile or blush?  I’m impressed that she kept it up the whole time since you never seemed to notice it, but she never gave up.” 

Irelia raised her hand to stop Riven, “I get it I get it.  How is she supposed to blend into normal society?  ‘The Dark Sovereign’ can’t exactly just settle down, the people won’t forgive her that easily.” 

“I’m sorry to tell you this Irelia, but most of your country doesn’t even recognize her.  They may know what she did, but most of them have moved on at this point.  Even if they didn’t, how many villages have we gone through?  How many people have seen her?  Now how many of them have actually recognize who she is?  Only two, the waitress and Lee Sin.  That’s it.” 

“What about even the idea of Ionia’s most infamous villain being in a relationship with their most famous warrior?” 

“Is that not the pinnacle of balance that your country preaches so much about?  Light and dark together?   Or how about how much she has changed since meeting us.  If I hadn’t seen her use her magic myself I wouldn’t believe that she was this ‘Dark Sovereign’ that you all claim her to be.”

“Nor will the council of elders let us be together, they will try to order us to be split apart.” 

“No they won’t.” 

“How do you know that!?” 

“Because if they fear Syndra as much as you claim that they do, then what better place for them to have her then right where they can keep an eye on her at all times?  Even if they don’t you are just using it as an excuse to run away from your problems rather than face them head on.” 

“Alright...I give up I don’t have anything else to ask you.” 

Riven breathed a sigh of relief, “Look.  I’m not trying to tell you how to live your life, but I will tell you when I think you are going to do something stupid.  And just because I won doesn’t mean you have to say yes to Syndra.  However, I want you to think over what I said and give it some thought, and please give her a straight answer soon.  She deserves at least that.”

* * *

 

_Why...why is it so hard to think?_

 

* * *

 

**_Zed...I think it is time that we switch places for a while.  Let’s give you a taste of what it is like to be someone else’s shadow._ **


	21. Repercussions Part 2

Irelia lifted herself up in bed.  She hardly was able to sleep the previous night, and as a result her head was pounding.

 _This is going to be a good day…_  Irelia thought to herself sarcastically as she dragged herself out of bed.

Irelia looked around the simple room that had been given to her by the monks.  She should have been glad that she had a room all to herself, for the first time in a while she had privacy.  She had been enjoying the privacy for the entirety of her stay, except for this morning.  All Irelia felt this morning was loneliness.  As she was going through her morning routine Irelia realized that she hadn’t written to Karma since they had gotten to the temple.

_She is probably worried about us.  But there isn’t any mail route that I could send a letter out from here…_

The temple, nor its inhabitants, didn’t get much mail so there wasn’t a dedicated route to the temple.  Other towns that they had visited had places Irelia could drop her letter off at, but here everything was sent out by courier.  The courier themselves weren’t the problem, the problem was that they didn’t go out very frequently.  The next one most likely wouldn’t leave till a few days after they would be leaving.  When she was about to move her mind away from the topic, a pang of guilt overtook her.  Hiding the fact that she was reporting to Karma about Syndra behind her back was starting to take its toll on Irelia.  She wasn’t sure how much longer she would be able to keep it up.

As Irelia went about her day, the loneliness followed her around.  Riven was busy with therapy for her shoulder, Lee Sin was preoccupied training his students, and Syndra was nowhere to be found.  As a result she spent most of the day between meditating, training with her blades, forms, and hand to hand drills on training dummies before finally turning in early for bed.

The next morning started off very similarly as the previous.  Irelia laid in her bed and stared up at the ceiling and did nothing else but think.  She kept wondering what this pit she felt in her stomach was, and why she felt unmotivated to do...anything.

Her thoughts were interrupted when someone knocked on her door.

Irelia got up and made her way over to the door, when she opened it she was greeted by Lee Sin on the other side.

“Good morning Irelia, may I come in?”  Lee Sin asked.

“Oh yes, of course.”  Irelia responded, caught off guard in her not quite yet awake state.  

“Thank you.”  Lee walked into the room and took a seat at the chair for the desk in the corner of the room.

Irelia was still amazed at how well Lee Sin was able to move about the temple, by how gracefully he moved, you would never guess that he was blind.

“So what do I owe the pleasure of this visit?”

Lee grimaced, “It looks like a snowstorm is heading our way from the West.  The  will be here in a day or two.  You, Riven, and Syndra probably should head out as quickly as you can, lest you be trapped here till the snow melts.”

Ionian winters tended to be harsh on the northern portion of Ionia, especially here in the mountains.  Once snow landed in certain parts of Ionia, sometimes it would stay on the ground until it melted in the spring.   Few people traveled in the winter due to the snow staying on the roads for so long, and temperatures dropping low enough at night that if you stayed out too long you would freeze.  If they got caught here, it would be a few months before they could safely travel back.

“Thank you, I will talk to them and we will get ready to leave as soon as we can.”

They didn’t have too many supplies with them, given how they had arrived.  So packing up to leave would be a very quick process.

“I have already let Riven and Syndra.  They will be ready to go shortly.”

Irelia began to silently gather her things together in a small pack in the corner of the room.

“How goes things between you and Syndra?”

Caught off guard by the question, Irelia dropped her bag on the floor.  Most of her clothes fell out onto the floor.

“What makes you ask?”

“I know you two spent some quality time together the other night, but I haven’t seen you together since then.  Add that to the fact that Syndra spent the day yesterday throwing rocks at the mountain.  She only does that when she is perturbed.”

 _Is it really that obvious to everyone else…_  Irelia thought nervously.

Lee Sin continued, “I don’t want to butt into your personal life too much.”

_A little late for that._

“But it would be better for everyone if you resolved this quickly, and preferably in a way that keeps Syndra happy.”

“Thank you for your advice, and heads up about the storm.  I have my stuff packed, so I probably should get everyone together to head out.”  Irelia responded.  Normally she would like to talk to Lee Sin for a bit longer, but this conversation was fairly awkward and uncomfortable so she just wanted it to be over.

When Irelia got outside of the temple, Riven and Syndra were already packed up and ready to go.  There was even horses prepared for them by the temple monks.  After saying their goodbyes, and thanking the monks for the hospitality one last time, they set off back for the Placidium.  There trip back however, would be a long and awkward one that was filled with a lot of silence.  Most of it was chalked up to Irelia and Syndra seemingly unsure of how to act around one another.

 

* * *

 

 

“What is he thinking…?”  Karma muttered to herself.  She had her elbows on her desk massaging her temples.  The meeting between the elders had ended a few minutes ago, and she was now in her office with Shen.  “What do you think of the situation?”

“The evidence against Zed is overwhelming.”

“I’m not asking about what the evidence says, I’m asking what your opinion is.”

Karma wasn’t sure for a moment if Shen had heard her as a stretch of silence passed between them.

“I don’t know.  Judging by the testimony, weapons used, and autopsies it is fairly damning evidence.  But, something is off.”

“Off?  Elaborate.”

“It doesn’t seem to fit Zed’s style of killing.  Most of the victims didn’t die immediately, they died because they succumbed to their wounds.  Leaving someone as a survivor was sloppy.  The choice of victims was also fairly suspicious.  Those monks had nothing to do with the Order of Shadows, they were and most likely never would be a threat to him, so what would be his motivation?”

“They were an ancient order that was a branch of the Solari.  They worshipped the Sun and were directly opposed to darkness of any kind.  Wouldn’t that be reason enough?  They could pose a threat to him if he expanded his territory too much.”

Shen shook his head in disagreement, “The Solari opposed the Lunari, I doubt they had any interest in his shadows.  Not to mention Zed’s goal isn’t world domination as far as I know, or even conquest of Ionia.  He disagreed with the Kinkou orders beliefs, and we didn’t do anything to dull that hatred, and payed for it.”

Karma nodded, “So you don’t think he did it?”

“We won’t know that until we speak to him ourselves, which we don’t have the ability to do.  As far as I know there isn’t anyone who has the kind of relationship with him.”

Karma sighed, “I may know someone who can get ahold of him.  However I don’t know where they are.”

Shen tilted his head slightly at Karma’s statement.  She figured that was probably the most emotion that she would get out of him in a professional setting.

“The Dark Sovereign has a personal contact with him.”

Shen flinched like he had been hit for a brief moment, “Zed is hanging out with a girl?”

Karma blinked for a moment, confused at his random question.  “Y-yes?  Why is that so odd?  Surely there are females in the Order of Shadows?  I don’t know what their relationship is, but it doesn’t seem to be intimate from my reports.”

“Reports?”

“For some reason The Dark Sovereign has taken an interest in hanging out with Ionia’s Captain of the Guard.  She is on a mission right now.”

“That seems...dangerous.”

“It is, but Irelia isn’t the type of person to take no for an answer.  I requested that she send me daily reports about their travels, and any new information that she learned about The Dark Sovereign or Master of Shadows.”

The way Shen’s face moved, Karma assumed that he raised an eyebrow in interest.

“Interesting.  Have you learned anything?”

Karma shook her head, “Nothing that is relevant to our current situation.  However I haven’t heard from her in over a week so I fear for the worst.”

“She has survived this long.  I think she can survive a bit longer on her own.  What was the tone of her last report?”

Karma leaned back in thought for a moment thinking.  “Everything seemed fine.  None of the reports indicated that there was a problem, maybe a bit of guilt from Irelia since she felt like she was spying on her friends but that was it.”

“So their friendship is mutual?”  Though his voice was flat as usual, Karma could tell that he was skeptical.

“I’m not sure.  It seems to be on Irelia’s side.  However I am not sure what purpose The Dark Sovereign has in befriending her.”

Shen rubbed his hand against his chin in thought for a moment, “I will keep an eye on them when they return and see whether or not it is genuine or not.”

“Thank you, Ionia has dealt with enough tragedy as of late and I would prefer not to add Ms. Lito to that list.”

Shen glanced out the window and then back to Karma, “I’m sorry but it is getting late.  I should get back to my apartment, it is dangerous to leave Akali alone with Kennen for too long.”

Karma gave Shen a disbelieving glance, “Do they still not get along?”

“They get along well, the last time you saw them was just bad timing.  Tensions were….high back then so things seemed worse than they really were.”

Karma’s expression now changed to one of curiousity, “Wait, does she really try to dress him up in children's clothes?”

Karma swore that she heard a rumor like that a long time ago, but there had never been an appropriate time to ask.

 _It’s good to hear that things aren’t as bad as they seem._ Karma was shocked to hear that Shen had ordered the remnants of the Kinkou Order to scatter around Ionia.  She can’t say that she would of done the same, but he feared that Zed would go after them and figured it was the safest course of action to protect them.

Shen let out a sigh and politely excused himself shortly after.

Even though Karma never got an answer, his lack of one was more than enough for her.

 

* * *

 

_Ugh….why does my head hurt so much?_

Zed got up and looked around, when he did he was shocked at what he found.  He was in his room at the Order of Shadows, but that wasn’t the surprising part.  The surprising part was what he saw directly ahead of him, he was staring at himself sharpening his blades.

 **_“Finally awake are we?”_ ** His body said as it turned to face him.

“You!  What did you do to me!”  Zed practically shouted at his other self.

**_“Didn’t you listen last time we spoke?  The answer should be obvious.”_ **

Zed brought his hand hand up to his head as a sharp pain shot through it as he struggled to sort his thoughts.  Zed felt like he had a terrible hangover, but he didn’t remember drinking any alcohol.  It was then as he opened his eyes that he registered the fact that his hands, no his whole body, was transparent.

“You...swapped our bodies?”

 **_“More our planes of existence, I just look like you because I am...was your shadow.”_ ** The shadow waved his hand dismissively at Zed, “ **_It’s a complicated magical process that you wouldn’t understand.”_ **

Zed tried to lash out at his former shadow, but all of his attacks merely phased through it.

**_“Now now, didn’t your daddy ever tell you that you should solve your problems without resorting to violence?”_ **

It took all of Zed’s discipline to keep his anger from clouding his thoughts further.  He knew he was playing with fire when he opened the box, but this was more than he thought it was capable of.  His shadows intelligence and dark, even if it was sarcastic, nature should of been enough of a flag for him to seek out a way to get rid of it.

Zed turned as the door to his room opened and someone entered.  Zed recognized the figure as Mentiere.  He couldn’t say that was surprised, he knew that her motives for being at the order were different than the others.  He never expected her to go this far though.

 **_“Ah there she is!  My right hand gal, she helped me set this thing up long ago.”_ **  Zed’s former shadow paused for a moment, **_“Wait...what did you do again?”_ **

“Everything.”

**_“That’s right!  Nothing important.  But you’ve got spunk and I like that.”_ **

“What is she doing here.  I trust it’s more than gloating”  Zed growled.

 **_“Now aren’t we the perceptive one.”_ ** He reached back and grabbed something from Zed’s nightstand behind him.  The former shadow’s voice lost its usual sarcastic tone in exchange for an usually series one.   **_“She is here to get one of these.”_ ** In his former shadow’s hand was The Box.   **_“It’s a real shame, you have a whole order of shadow ninja’s in training here.  Yet only a handful actually have ever gotten a shadow themselves.  Why is that?”_ **

“She’s not ready!  None of them were.”

“Yes we are!”  Mentire shouted, “We are stronger than you think; but you wouldn’t know that anymore with how often you disappear, now would you?”

“No!  Why do you think none of the other students with shadows are still around!?  They couldn’t handle it, and look at what happened to me!”

**_“May I interrupt?  Good.  I know you two have...things you want to discuss and feelings or something to sort out, but I have things to do and I want to get to the real reason why we are here.”_ **

Then Zed’s body opened the box, and Zed could only watch as a shadow came out and possessed Menteri.  

 **_“I would love to stay and watch one of my siblings being reborn, but I really must be off.  Evil planning that must be taken care, you wouldn’t understand.”_ **  Shortly after that he left and only Zed and Mentiri were left in the room.

Zed could still remember it like it was yesterday, it started off as a chill running through your whole body.  This was how the shadow gave you the ability to access its dark magic, Zed assumed that this was also when the shadow copied your physical appearance.  Once it was complete it would rip itself from your body.  The feeling was...intense to say the least.  You felt pain everywhere, yet at the same time since it was metaphysical you didn’t actually feel it anywhere at all.  Your would burn from the pain, yet at the same time wherever the shadow touched as it exited your body would be chilled to the bone.  He wasn’t sure how long it took, it seemed to vary from person to person.  Though if asked the person going through it they probably would tell you that it felt like an eternity.  

So Zed sat and waited there for the process to be completed.  He didn’t think he would get any help from her when she awoke, but maybe he could get some information from her.  At the very least he would make sure she wasn’t left alone with the shadow from the start, he knew well how that ended.


	22. Repercussions Finale

_Maybe I have been spending too much time away from the students lately…_ Zed pondered as he stared off at nothing in particular.

“I’ll have to change things up a bit once this all over.” Zed said to himself. His voice came out as more of a whisper as he spoke, not even realizing he spoke aloud.

“What makes you think you’ll get your body back?” Mentiri grunted.

Zed looked to his left and saw Mentiri glaring at him from the floor.

“I’d recommend getting that thing removed.”

Mentiri looked at him in disbelief, “No! You were going to keep the shadows, the power, to yourself. You had no interest in sharing it with your students.”

“Do you not see me right now? I lost my body to the shadow, what do you think is going to happen to you? Thanks to you I’m going to have MORE shadows to deal with, do you have any idea how long it is going to take me to restore the order?”

“What do you mean ‘restore the order’? How are you going to do anything without a body? There is no one here who can help you, probably no one anywhere! Face it Zed, you’ve lost.” Mentiri stumbled as she tried to pick herself up, and after steadying herself she left the room.

Zed laughed to himself outloud so Mentiri could hear him. “Silly girl, the battle’s not over until I win.”

_Well shit, what have I gotten myself into this time? Alright. First I have to get to Syndra, then….ugh...then I have to apologize for whatever she thinks I did. She’s going to be insufferable._ Zed pondered to himself for a moment. _I wonder if it would be easier to enlist Irelia or Riven’s help...Where do they even live? Syndra wasn’t at her fortress last time I checked. Yuri’s there...maybe. Could I even get up there with this body?_ Zed sighed. _Irelia should live near the Placidium since she works there._ Zed groaned. _That’s going to take forever to get there._

Zed tried to get up and leave the room, only to find his body unmoving.

_That’s right. I don’t have muscles. This is going to take a while..._

“Shit.”

* * *

 

The sun was high in the sky when Irelia, Syndra, and Riven arrived back at the Lito manor. Leaving in the morning shortly after the sun had risen allowed them to arrive in the middle of the afternoon. The trip back was awkward, with few conversations taking place over the few days trip. The monks were right, they were fortunate enough to not encounter any inclement weather on their way back, though the nights were starting to get down to frigid levels.

The silence continued as they made their way inside and started to unpack. Unsurprisingly Riven was the first one to finish unpacking.

‘“I’m going to head over to see if Soraka’s in, hopefully she'll be able to do something about this shoulder of mine.” Riven grunted as she tested her range of motion.

“Alright. I have to report to Karma.” Irelia turned to Syndra, “Would you like to come?”

Syndra shrugged, “I’ve got nothing better to do.”

Irelia turned back to Riven, “Then I guess we will see you back at the house when you are done?”

“Sure.”

* * *

 

“You’re lucky” Soraka said while looking at x-rays of Riven’s upper chest, a moment later she glanced up at Riven for a second and said “I hope you thanked whoever treated you.”

“I did, don’t worry.”

“Good. If it wasn’t for them, you probably would've died too ganggreen by now.” Soraka put the x-rays aside and started to walk over towards Riven. “Take your shirt off and lay down on the table. I’m going to use magic make sure that your shoulder heals properly and hopefully stop it from scarring.”

Riven nodded and started to take her shirt off. She appreciated Soraka’s bluntness, something that she didn’t often get from Ionians. The longest part was removing the wraps that was around her upper body. Once Riven was finished removing enough of the wrappings, she went to the table. A shiver went through her as she lowered her stomach followed by her chest onto the cold surface of the medical table.

“This is going to be more uncomfortable than painful, but you must stay as still as possible. Once we start we won't be able to stop. Do you understand?”

Riven nodded. Her eyes glanced around Soraka’s office attempting to find something to focus on. There was a desk in the corner that was filled with paperwork. On top of it there was an open folder on the desk. In the short time that Soraka had known Riven she had managed to create quite the dossier on her. If it was anyone else Riven would’ve been nervous, but Soraka took her work very serious so she trusted her. Across from the desk there was a bookshelf, most of them dealing with human anatomy, psychology, Ionian mythology, and a multitude of other topics Riven wasn't familiar with. There was some diagrams and charts hanging from the wall, but Riven couldn’t make heads or tails of them so she ignored them. She finally settled on a picture of the Ionian countryside, as that was the only thing left for her to stare at. Surprisingly she didn’t recognize the location depicted in the painting from her time in the military.

She heard Soraka give a slow exhale as she gently placed her hand onto Riven’s deltoid.

The next moment Riven could see a green light being reflected onto the walls from Soraka’s hand. The place near her shoulder warmed slightly under the starchild’s hand. The next moment, a warm dull pain shot up to her collarbone, over to her shoulder blade, and finally ending somewhere between her shoulder and elbow. Riven groaned, but otherwise managed to hold herself still. She wasn’t sure what exactly was happening but it felt like something was crawling beneath her skin. Riven didn’t quite know what it was that Soraka was doing. If she had to guess her muscles probably were being healed at an accelerated rate. After what felt like an hour Soraka moved her hand up towards Riven’s collarbone, and probably five minutes later down to her shoulder blade. The green glow dimmed a bit, but Soraka kept moving her hand to various places on Riven’s back. From Soraka’s movements she guessed that the worst of the procedure was over, and that Soraka was just double checking her work. After about a minute the green light faded and Riven heard Soraka fall into her chair in the corner of the room.

Riven sat up and decided to test the range of motion. It felt a bit stiff, but it was a drastic improvement over how it felt that morning.

“You...can put your shirt back on now.” Exhaustion was evident in Soraka’s voice.

Riven grabbed her shirt and pulled it over her head, not even bothering with her wraps. She was overdue for a long bath anyway.

“Are you alright?”

“Yeah. It’s been a long day, and healing like that takes a lot out of me. Just give me a couple hours and I’ll be fine.” Soraka paused for a little bit catching her breath, “Your shoulder should be fine now, just wait a couple days before you start swinging your sword around. If after that time everything feels normal go for it, otherwise let me know.”

  
Riven nodded. Taking that as her cue that she was done, Riven made her way back to the Lito manor.

* * *

 

Karma sighed as she leaned back stretching out her cramped limbs. The last few days have been filled with nothing but paperwork. She loved snowdown as much as the next person, but all of the paperwork involved in setting up the events, vendors, and decorations was taxing. That was only the tasks that she had managed to get through so far. She still had a mountain of paperwork regarding other topics.

Karma let her limbs and eyes rest as her thoughts drifted elsewhere. After a few minutes of silence passed, and even more brushes with sleep than she would admit, she heard a knock on her door.

_Odd, I don’t think I am expecting any visitors._ Karma thought as she focused her wandering mind.

Karma shifted so that she was sitting up properly again. “Come in.”

Shortly after the door slid open and Irelia stepped into the room. Karma could see the shadow of a figure leaning against the wall opposite the door, before it was closed.

“Irelia, you’re back.” Karma said with mild shock. “I wish I had known sooner, I would have prepared something for you. How long have you been back?”

“It’s alright Karma. I’ve only been back for a couple of hours.”

“You could have taken some time for yourself.” Karma sighed, “Here at least let me make you some tea.”

Upon leaving the room Karma recognized The Dark Sovereign as the figure leaning up against the wall next to her office, her arms folded over her chest. The way she wore her mantle of decorum on her head was insulting. Adding insult to injury, she never even earned her mantle. Karma wasn’t sure how she got it, but she didn’t earn it like her, Irelia, or any of the other elders.

“What are you doing here?” Karma said coldly.

The Dark Sovereign never responded, she just kept staring at Karma with a piercing glare. She could feel The Dark Sovereign’s disdain for her in the air around her.

“I--”

The Dark Sovereign cut Karma off before she could speak any further, “I don’t have any interest in talking to you, or your kind any longer then I have to.”

“What do you mean by ‘my kind’?” Karma failed to not let her annoyance seep into her voice.

“You and the other members of your ‘elder council’, or whatever you’re calling it these days.”

Karma internally sighed, calming herself. She couldn’t let The Dark Sovereign get under her skin. “I know you dislike the council, but---”

“Dislike? Disdain and despise are a bit more accurate.”

“BUT the council forgives you for the murder of your master.”

“Forgive me!? Do you have any IDEA what he did?” The Dark Sovereign snapped.

“I know what happened, I have read the records. It is--”

“That’s rich.” The Dark Sovereign laughed slightly sarcastically, but her voice quickly returned to its cold tone. “If you think those ‘records’ cover even a fraction of what happened you are dead wrong.“ The Dark Sovereign leaned in closer to Karma and lowered her voice, “Read about his ‘research’ into magic, the unofficial records about me, the corruption. Then come back and tell me that you know what happened.”

“What is your plan Dark Sovereign? What are you trying to accomplish?”

“Accomplish? I’m not trying to accomplish anything. I’m just trying to live my life the way I want, without it being dictated by someone else. But you and your stupid ‘council’ seem to think that you have the right to control me like a puppet. Let me tell you this. If I find out that after all I have done to keep my freedom, that the council tries to subjugate me to their whims, I will ensure that what I have done in the past is but a footnote in the history of Ionia.”

After that The Dark Sovereign turned and started to walk away from Karma.

“By the way, tell Irelia that I will meet her back at the house. I trust that you can at least do that right.”

Karma sighed. _Why would I think that would go any better. Yeah, try to win The Dark Sovereign over with persuasion, because that has gone so well in the past._

After that Karma went and fetched the hot water for her and Irelia’s tea.

* * *

 

Karma took a deep breath as she took in her tea’s aroma.

“How did things go?”

Irelia recapped the details of her mission involving The Dark Sovereign and Riven. As usual Irelia’s reports were very detailed, though something seemed off. Karma wasn’t sure, but aside from a few personal details here and there being omitted, it felt like Irelia might be hiding something. Karma quickly squashed the feeling, she trusted Irelia. She wouldn’t hide anything important from her. If Irelia did, then she would have valid reasons for it. She hoped. Karma decided to focus on the part that interested her the most.

“What do you MEAN The Dark Sovereign and The Master of Shadows had a ‘falling out’?”

“As far as I know, they haven’t spoken to each other since I last saw him. It may have been a misunderstanding between the two, but I think that they are both too prideful to reach out to one another.”

Karma was relieved that they weren’t working together, but this made figuring out what the Master of Shadows’ plan was all the more difficult. If it was indeed him attacking the temples, which evidence highly suggested, she still had no idea what he gained, or what his goal could possibly be.

Karma rubbed her temples in aggravation.

_Now what actions do we take against The Master of Shadows?_

“Anything else that is worth mentioning Irelia?”

Irelia seemed to fidget in her seat, uncomfortably.

“Well....It seems that Syndra actually is kind of in love with me. I’m not sure if it’s love or not, or if I’ve been reciprocating it. I don’t even know how I feel on the matter, I mean she’s not that bad. I know that you need these reports, but I feel like if I keep doing it any longer that it’s going to damage our relationship, and I don’t want to lose her as friend. Girlfriend. I DON’T EVEN KNOW ANYMORE!” At some point Irelia had jumped out of her chair, and was now grasping the edge of Karma’s desk as she was heaving heavily from her rant.

Karma, taken aback, now remembered The Dark Sovereign’s parting message.

_The house. As in The Dark Sovereign and Irelia, Captain of the Guard, LIVING together. In the same house. Together…._

Karma leaned her face down on her hand and let out a long sigh.

“I see. That paints an image that, frankly, I didn’t need.”

Irelia stammered trying to say something, but Karma cut her off by raising her other hand.

“It’s okay. Well it’s not okay, but I understand where you are coming from. I think. Maybe. Sort of. Not really. But I digress, since you are unable to continue this mission. I must assign it to someone else.”

“I really don’t think you need to spy on her. She honestly doesn’t have any plans, could we just have her report to you a couple times a week or something?”

Karma cleared her throat, “Recent events, have shown that her and I don’t get along. And having her report to me would just make a situation out of nothing.”

“If she can’t report to you can she report to someone else?”

Karma rattled her brain for someone that she could have The Dark Sovereign report to. She had to admit that having The Dark Sovereign report to someone would save her time on reading reports.

_Who do I know that commands respect, but isn’t apart of the elders…? And wouldn’t be intimidated by her?_

A few moments later, _I got it._

“How well do you know the Eye of Twilight?”


	23. Return to Normalcy?

Irelia returned home from Karma’s to find that Syndra and Riven were silently eating dinner together.  The table was filled with rice, baked salmon, and various steamed vegetables.  Even after Irelia sat down, filled her plate, and started eating, the silence continued.  After about a minute, Irelia decided to try and start a conversation.

“How did your doctor’s visit go Riven?”

“Pretty well, I think my shoulder is finally back to normal.  I owe that bitch one for shooting me with an arrow.”

“That’s something I can get behind.”  Syndra commented, “I’m pretty sure I know where she lives.”

“Really, you do!?”

“Yeah, I can take you there as a ‘you’re finally healed, let’s get revenge’ present.”

“Revenge presents are great, I haven’t had one of those in a long time.”  Riven stared off into the distance with a fond look on her face.

“Riven?”  Syndra waved her hand in front of Riven’s face.

“Oh, sorry.  I was just reminiscing previous revenge presents with an old friend.  Anyway where does she live?”

“In the Order of the Shadows!  Which shouldn’t take too long if we fly----wait.  I almost forgot I’m mad at Zed...or was before Irelia cleared that up.  But I yelled at him, and that would require... _ apologizing. _ ”  Syndra acted as if a shiver went up her spine, “Sorry Riven, can I get you anything else?  I’m not good at the whole, apologizing thing.”

Irelia stared with a look of mild horror on her face.  “What are you talking about?  And no, you can’t get revenge presents.  We will find her and capture her within the bounds of the law, and make her face justice.”

“We just spent a couple of weeks hunting down mercenaries, there wasn’t much justice there.  Besides I think I still have diplomatic immunity.”

“I like blowing things up.”  Syndra chimed in between sentences.

Irelia cleared her throat, “It’s quite clear that she is apart of a larger plot, so we should capture her and find out what she knows first.  If she resists, or dies in battle then that is out of my control.”

“If we do capture her,”  Riven said as she took a bite to eat, and pointed her fork at Irelia, “can I be in charge of the interrogation?”

“I thought you were the responsible one?”

“Between Syndra and I?  Yeah, but she shot me with an arrow.  That bitch is going down.”

Irelia sighed, “Now I see Karma’s point.”

“What does she have to do anything?”  Syndra commented.

“Towards the end of my report, it became clear that when I return to work there will be no one to supervise you.  She isn’t quite... _ comfortable _ with you being unsupervised within the city’s walls.  Riven isn’t technically a member of the Ionian government so she doesn’t count, so Karma would prefer if you meet with someone a couple times a week.”

“Why?  And no I am not going to waste my time talking to her or some member of the council.”

“I knew you were going to say that, so I requested that she assign the duty to someone else.  The person you are meeting in no way is apart of the council, but still holds authority within the government.”

“You were thinking of me?”  Syndra said with a grin.

“Of course.  You have given me much to think about lately.”  Irelia said with a visible hint of red in her cheeks.

“How’s it going then?”  Syndra replied teasingly.

“It’s….going.  I am definitely thinking about it, I just haven’t had much alone time to think about it.”

“Ooooh, you want to think about me when you’re alone?”

“Can I get some more rice?”  Riven chimed in, “I’m still here you know!  Remember?”

Irelia passed Riven more rice, visibly embarrassed.

“So Syndra, can you meet with him a few times a week?”

“Fine.  Who is this guy anyway?”

“The Eye of Twilight, he--”

“The who’s ugh what’s it?”

Riven chimed in, “The Eye of Twilight is the leader of the Kinkou order, Ionia’s secret task force of ninja’s used to enforce peace.”

“Wow, I’m impressed that you know that.  Some Ionians don’t even know that.”

“Before and during the invasion of Ionia, Noxus sent out orders for all generals to abide by.  Among those orders was a list of members of Ionia to avoid at all costs.  The Kinkou order and the Eye of Twilight were on that list.”  Riven turned to Syndra, “So were you.”   
“Really?”  Syndra said with a bit of pride, “What did it say?”

“Only generic stuff.  Physical description, avoid at all costs, that you used magic and would destroy the entire army if provoked.”  Riven paused for a moment before looking at Irelia.  “What’s someone like the Eye of Twilight doing here?”

“A few years back Zed took over the Kinkou order and transformed it into the Order of Shadows.  After that, the remaining members scattered to different parts of Ionia.  I guess the Eye of Twilight is here working as a doctor at the hospital, because that’s where Syndra is meeting him.”

“Ew, I have to go to the hospital?  I’m not going to get sick am I?  Where’s that even at?”

“Take a right once you leave the Lito manor, and head down towards the Market.  Head past that shoe shop that you like so much, and make a left at the next intersection of shops.  This will take you out of the market---”

Riven, noticing that Syndra was starting to look confused decided she would step in, “I can take her Irelia, I think you lost her.”

 

* * *

 

Shen sat at his desk reviewing his report.  It was concerning an operation from a few hours prior.  It didn’t go as Shen planned, but the operation was a success and there was no damage done to the patient.  He was going to spend another five minutes reviewing his current report, after that he would spent another thirty minutes planning out his next operation that was taking place at exactly 3:30pm.  Following would be his usual Thursday lunch with Soraka fifteen minutes after noon.  Once they finished lunch and had their usual chat he would check up on his previous patients.  Once he was finished meeting with all of them he would research their ailments, read the latest medical articles and research, and then…

BOOM!

Shen flinched as his door was blown open.

“You could have knocked you know.”  A woman's voice commented from behind Shen.

“I could have, but that wouldn’t be as dramatic.”  Another, softer but more aggressive, woman’s voice remarked.

Shen groaned internally to himself.

_ How could I forget.  Karma asked a favor of me.  What did I do with that paper full of questions for her to fill out? _  Shen shuffled the report in front of him into a folder and put it on the top right corner of his desk for filing away later.  After that he picked up all the papers in a basket on the upper left hand corner of his desk labeled ‘To Do’.

_ There it is. _  Shen thought as he was shuffling through the papers.  After he returned the papers back to their bin, and turned to the two women behind him.  He froze as he laid eyes on them, complete opposites of one another.  The one on the left in purple, whose outfit was perfectly symmetrical to the point it was almost beautiful.  Then there was the women on the right, she was clad in….Shen didn’t even know how to describe the mess that was her outfit.  He didn’t particularly care that her outfit was a mess, what he did care about was that her outfit was…. **asymmetric.**

_ Keep it together Shen, remember Kennen’s advice.  As long you remember it, everything will be alright.  What was his advice again?....crap. _

“Greetings.”  Shen said as he turned his attention to the one in purple, “I assume that you are The Dark Sovereign?”

“Only when someone pisses me off, otherwise you can call me Syndra.”

Shen nodded in response, “I am Shen, the Eye of Twilight.”  Shen handed Syndra the paper in his hand, “If you would please fill this paper out it would be most appreciated.”

Shen turned around and started to walk back to his desk when he heard a horrific sound behind.  Shortly after that sound he felt a light tap on the back of his head, and felt the ball of paper hit him twice on the way down to the ground.

“I don’t do paperwork.”  Syndra said curtly.

_ Three hits, it touched me THREE times.  Wait, it also hit the floor and bounced three times for a total of six. _  Shen sighed to himself internally.

“At least try to work with him Syndra.  You could've at least handed it back, he may need that for something else.”  The asymmetrical one spoke.

“Why are you taking his side?”

“Because I remember having to do paperwork in the military.  It sucked if the person before didn’t care what they were doing, had bad handwriting, or didn’t lay things out nice and evenly for you.”

_ There’s hope for the asymmetric one yet.  I should probably get her name, that way I don’t have to keep using that damnable  _ **_term._ **

Shen turned around faced towards the asymmetric one, “Forgive me, but I never received your name.  Miss?”

“Riven.  I’m only here to make sure that Syndra actually shows up, and so she finds her way here.  If I didn’t then she probably would just spend the hour floating above the city, or throwing rocks against a mountain.”

“Boulders, they’re called boulders.”

“Yeah, yeah.  They make a bigger boom.”  Riven said as she bent over and picked up the paper off the floor.  She went over to Shen’s desk, and used it to help straighten the paper back out.  Once she was finished she handed it back to Shen.

“Question One: What are your plans for the rest of this week?”

“I don’t even know what I’m going to do once I’m done here.  What makes you think that I know what I’m going to do later this week?”

“Question Two: Are you planning on meeting with anyone that currently wishes ill towards Ionia?”

“Why would you ask that question knowing my answer to the previous?”

“Please just answer the question.”

Syndra sighed, “No.”

“Question Three:  Have you caused any damage to public or personal property this week?”

“No.”

“What about that fruit vendor on the way here?”  Riven asked.

“That wasn’t my fault!  He popped up out of nowhere and scared me!” Syndra remarked defensively.  “Besides, that man’s not right.  No one should love citrus as much as he does.”  

“Question Four: Have you caused grievous harm to anyone this week?”

Syndra turned to Riven, unsure how to answer.

“I don’t think the fruit vendor counts, you’re fine.”

Syndra continued to stare at her.

“OR your teasing Irelia.”

“No.” 

“Question Five: Are you planning on causing mass panic this week?”

“I don’t plan on causing mass panic, I just do.”

_ Stay focused Shen, stayed focused.  Ignore the lack of planning, it’s okay....Right move onto the next question that will do it. _

Shen glanced down at the paper.  He paused as he realized that he was out of questions.

_ Quick Shen, think think.  Just one more question to make it even, but what do I ask her? _

“Finally, the most important question.  Question Six: Do you wish to join myself and Soraka for lunch?”

_ Phew!  How did I not realize sooner that the questionnaire only had five questions!  Maybe I should have actually read the ... _ **_odd_ ** _ numbered questions. _

“Uhmmmm…..no?”

“Sure!”  Riven responded.

_ No! An odd number…. _

“Wait, what?”  Syndra said as she looked at Riven.

“It’s not like we have anything better to do.”  Riven remarked, “Irelia won’t be back till later tonight, you have plenty of time to waste.”

Syndra rolled her eyes, “Fine.”

A sense of relief internally washed over Shen.   _ The asymmetric one….I mean Riven has come through.  There is hope for her yet! _

“Why do you do that?”  Syndra commented.

“Do what?”  Shen asked.

“Whenever you think to yourself you always slightly tilt your head to the side.  It’s weird, it reminds me of Zed.”

_ Do I do that?  Wait...the side....does that mean that I’m not symmetrical? _

“Oh wow you’re right!  How did you notice something that subtle?”  Riven asked as she pulled back from squinting at Shen.

“It’s not like Zed gave me much to go on!  He’s always wearing that stupid mask and armor. Do you have any idea how hard it is to read facial expressions when you can’t see a face!  The only clue I had for how he was feeling was his incredibly subtle body movements.”  Then Syndra sighed to herself in a loving manner, “That’s what I like about Irelia, she’s so easy to read.”

_ Wait, Zed?  That’s right, she does know Zed.  Maybe if I tell her I know Zed she will give me whatever information Karma wants and I can go back to my normal routine.  Otherwise I will have to make a new routine!  What if she doesn’t come on set days or at set times?  No.  I won’t let that happen! _

“He’s doing it again!”  Syndra mock whispered as she leaned over towards Riven.

“You know Zed?”  Shen asked.

“Yeah?  You remind me a lot of him and it’s weird.  It’s like you two are related or something.  Shouldn’t that have been in whatever file you have on me anyway?”

“Well he is my brother.”

“Whoa, really?  Prove it!”

“Blood relation is kind of hard to prove Syndra.”  Riven remarked.

“Whenever Zed has a problem, he turns to baking to drown his sorrows.  He avoids going through doors as much as he can because of me.  His armor is symmetrical, he does this because he knows that he can use that to annoy me.”

Riven looked slightly confused at Shen, as Syndra stared off into space, obviously thinking.

“Wow.  He’s actually right.”  Syndra said in disbelief.  “He actually may be his brother.”

“Technically he’s adopted, but we are raised together so we might as well be brothers.”

“Zed was adopted!  That actually explains some things...Quick tell me about his childhood!  I need blackmail.”  Syndra declared while pointing at Shen.

Shen was about to respond when he realized that he could use this to ensure that Syndra would come back.  Not only that, but it would be at a set and scheduled time!

“Come back this monday at exactly 1:00pm.  Once our required meeting is finished, I will tell you about Zed and I’s childhood.  At least until 1:45pm when I have to make my rounds to meet with my patients.  If I’m not mistaken, we have to meet Soraka for lunch right about, “ Shen glanced up at the clock in his office.  12:13pm.  “Oh no, I’m going to be late!”  Shen declared as he bolted out of the room, leaving behind a confused Syndra and Riven.

 

* * *

 

Irelia sat staring at the mountain of paperwork in front of her.  She would rather be out on patrol or training rather than cooped up inside doing paperwork.  Unfortunately she had a lot to catch up on due to her absence.  Immediate issues were taken care of by her secretary, however certain issues that required Irelia’s personal attention were saved for her return.  Put that on top of the paperwork in addition to the scheduling required for Snowdown, and it seemed never ending.  Then there was the other two problems that Irelia had.

_ Syndra _

No matter how hard Irelia tried to push her out of her mind, Syndra just kept coming back.  The longer she continued to do paperwork the more distracted she got and the more frequently Syndra plagued Irelia’s mind.

“You are distracted Captain.”  Jun said while slowly standing up.  After pushing the chair back in, Jun commented, “I’ll return shortly once I have collected some light reading for you.”

Irelia turned her gaze to her secretary Jun, acknowledging the slight admonishment.  Jun wore the standard Placidium yukata, with an additional cloak to help battle the chill of winter.  Jun had always been very formal, if Irelia hadn’t known otherwise she would have thought that Jun was of noble lineage.  Jun had been the captain of the guard’s secretary for about a year before Irelia was granted the position.  This was a boon for Irelia, as she wouldn’t otherwise have known how to deal with the immense amount of paperwork the position generated.  Hopefully whatever Jun was retrieving would be a good distraction from the rumors about herself that was starting to crop up.

In the time since Irelia had returned to her guard duties she only caught glimpses of what they were saying here and there, but it was enough.  Turns out spending a lot of time with one of Ionia’s greatest threats and a former Noxian commander concerned people.  Irelia guessed that she should be grateful for how long it took for them to catch onto Syndra’s identity, her snow white hair did her no favors in that regard.  At least Syndra’s appearance was Ionian, Riven was even easier to pick out in a crowd due to her distinctly rough Noxian features.

_ I’m going to have to deal with these rumors eventually.  Riven was fine until the bandits became a problem in the southern provinces, so things for her may get better with time.  Syndra however, Ionians have been slow to forgive her.  Some may never forgive her.  After killing an Elder, I can’t say I blame them.  I could have her try community service, though that would only reach a small amount of people.  Also I couldn’t see her doing community service.  Or….no she’s better at destroying buildings than making them.  How about....not that either.  What if I....does she even like old people or children?  No, she probably would lose her head if I had her do that.  GAHHHHH, WHY DOES SHE HAVE TO BE SO DIFFICULT. _

Irelia’s train of thought was interrupted as Jun returned to her office with a bit of paperwork.  She liked to keep track of all the prisoners that were being pardoned or released in her district.

“Captain Lito, here--”

“Jun.  For the thousandth time, call me Irelia.”

“--Is a list of prisoners that were pardoned while you were gone.  It’s very...unusual.”  Jun finished, handing Irelia a small stack of papers.

Jun took the papers from in front of Irelia as she leaned back and started to look over the papers.  Irelia glanced through the papers individually before setting each one aside, the first five were nothing to be concerned about.  Mostly minor offenders being paroled, individuals to keep her eye on since they never completed rehabilitation, nothing too concerning.  The sixth and seventh were a little bit more concerning since they actually were considered criminals, one of them Irelia had arrested herself for a string of robberies.  The other was arrested for holding civilians hostage and demanding a ransom.  By the time Irelia got to the eighth she was slightly worried, the pardoning of a murderer was rare in Ionia.  Not to say that they never got out of jail, but premeditated murder or taking the life of an innocent was a serious crime in Ionia.  That was why the council demanded the purging of the Noxian and Zaunite bandits.  After Irelia put down the eighth prisoner's paper, she looked confused as the last set of papers were all paperclipped together.

_ Something tells me that I’m not going to like this. _

Irelia carefully started reading through the prisoner’s convictions.

 

_ Convicted of:  _ _ Murder _

_ Convicted of:  _ _ Murder _

_ Convicted of:  _ _ Murder _

_ Convicted of:  _ _ Murder _

_ Convicted of:  _ _ Murder _

_ Convicted of:  _ _ Murder _

_ Convicted of:  _ _ Murder _

_ Convicted of:  _ _ Murder _

_ Convicted of:  _ _ Murder _

_ Convicted of:  _ _ Murder _

_ Convicted of:  _ _ Murder _

Irelia had to stop.  Every page that she flipped to was the same crime over and over again.  Each one more gruesome and disturbing than the last.  Once she was finished she read the first page over and over again detailing the prisoner’s release.  Even after reading over the paper several times, she couldn’t believe what she was reading.

“There is no way this should of been approved!  This is missing the warden’s signature!”

Where the signature should have been there instead was a council seal of approval.  Irelia didn’t know whether this was a group or individual decision, but she most definitely was going to find out.

“Jun!  When did this request come in!?

“Shortly after you left with the Dark Sovereign.  It was suspicious so I flagged it for further notification.”

“Why didn’t you notify me earlier!?”

“You were on a secret mission with an enemy of the state, and a former Noxian commander.  Even if I was able to find a way to contact you, there was no guarantee that it would reach you.”

“Then why not take it to Karma to try and get it overturned?”

“When it first came in shortly after you left it was just a prisoner release form.  However sometime between then and now, the authorization for their release came through.”

“Jun.  I’m stepping out for a little while.”  Irelia said neutrally as she got up out of her chair and left her office.


	24. Lunch with a Side of Chaos

Irelia stormed down the hallway, continuing her thoughts on the prisoner’s release. Given their history and identity, she doubted it was a unanimous decision. Council members did have the authority to pardon criminals, but a criminal this high profile should have attracted a lot of attention. If the public learned of their release, those that remembered the murders would be outraged. Either way, a lot of planning went into the release. The only reason why she probably even found out was because she requested several years ago to be notified whenever a prisoner was released.

Irelia barged into Karma’s office, not even bothering to knock. She found Karma chatting with Elder Azrael. He had his long black hair in a braid that hung over his shoulder. The robe he wore was a dark green that had many ornate gold accents. As she entered the room they both turned and looked at her, most likely caught off guard by her sudden unannounced entrance.

“Irelia. This is...unexpected.”

Irelia turned her attention to Elder Azrael. “I apologize Elder Azrael but I must speak to Dutchess Karma immediately.”

Azrael turned to Karma, “We will catch up another time.” He gave a bow to her, and then made his way out of Karma’s office.

Once Azrael had closed the door Karma changed her gaze to Irelia.

“Who authorized the release of this prisoner.” Irelia demanded as she thrust the paperwork in Karma’s face.

Karma sat back, gently taking the paper from Irelia’s outstretched hand and glanced at it, keeping a neutral expression the whole time. Once she finished the document a faint expression of forlornness appeared on her face. Karma turned back to the first page and kept staring at the paper. Sighing, she set the papers back down on the table and pushed them back over to Irelia.

“I can’t help you Irelia, I’m sorry.” Karma finally admitted.

“What!? Why? Can’t you overturn it or order for his reincarceration?” Irelia shouted as she slammed her hands down on the desk.

“You know I can’t overturn another council member's orders alone.” Karma responded sternly. “Either the council member that approved this would have to revoke it themselves, or you would have to request a meeting and petition the entire council to overturn the request.”

“Then tell me who approved it and I will get them to overturn it myself. I don’t want that man wandering around my city!” Irelia demanded as she pointed towards the city.

“They wouldn’t have freed him without a good reason, Irelia.”

“What reason!? He should have had a life sentence!” Irelia asserted heatedly. “You know how much blood is on his hands, how many innocent people he’s killed. Whatever they need him for, there has to be a better solution!”

Karma straightened, bringing her hands together in front of her chin. In a serious tone she replied, “Do I need to remind you of all the innocent blood that is on The Dark Sovereign’s hands as well? If it were up to me she would have been imprisoned a long time ago for what she has done. The only reason she is allowed to walk freely is because she isn’t currently a threat to Ionia and we don’t have a means of detaining her.”

Irelia’s stomach dropped like a rock. Karma’s statement was surprising, and unsettling to say the least. Irelia would argue that Syndra wasn’t as guilty as Karma thought, but Irelia’s knowledge on her past was more limited than she cared to admit. Other than what Syndra had told her the night of the Harrowing, there wasn’t much else that Irelia knew. Of course she knew about what was contained in her record, but the more she learned about Syndra, the less accurate it seemed.

“Syndra can be compassionate once you get to know her. She isn’t nearly as cruel as her reputation makes her out to be.”

“The only one that she is compassionate towards is you. I can’t speak for how she acts around Riven, but she doesn’t give a damn about the rest of us in my experience.”

“We can discuss Syndra another time, she isn’t the topic at hand here.”

Karma hesitated for a moment, Irelia guessed that she was debating whether she wanted to let her change the subject so easily. “I’ll look into it, but I don’t think that I will be able to get the order overturned. Even if I could there’s no guarantee that this man is still around, he has been out for a while now.”

* * *

 

“Where did he go?” Riven asked aloud to no one in particular.

Shen had ran out of his office before Syndra and Riven had figured out where he had invited them out to lunch at.

“Who cares, let’s go find Irelia.” Syndra responded chipperly as she tried to walk out of the room.

“Hold on a second!” Riven grunted as she pulled Syndra back by her collar. “You didn’t finish your session with him, not only that he invited us to lunch, and then just dashed away without telling us where we were going. By those standards someone owes me food!” Riven exclaimed as she pointed towards herself.

“Who cares? We can go find Irelia and grab lunch.” Syndra shrugged.

“I do! Besides he never gave you the blackmail information on Zed.”

Syndra contemplated to herself for a moment, “True. He didn’t give me any information about Zed...Alright I guess we can go find him.”

“Great! Now how are we going to do that?”

Syndra stared past Riven before abruptly turning her head towards the office door.

“Don’t worry Riven I got this.” Syndra responded as she stretched her hands out in front of her, before heading out of Shen’s office.

“Okay...?”

Syndra floated briskly down the hall before stopping abruptly.

“Why did you stop?”

A moment later she turned right and continued floating down the hall before stopping once again.

“Syndra?”

Syndra continued to ignore Riven as she stared at the wall. Suddenly she waved her hand and a cone of purple energy burst out in front of her, destroying the wall she had previously been staring at.

“SYNDRA!?!? WHAT ARE YOU DOING!?”

Still ignoring her, Syndra floated through the wall before abruptly turning left and exiting an office door.

Riven carefully stepped over the rubble and walked through the new hole in the wall. She was greeted by horrified stares of the occupants of the room.

With the most sincere voice she could muster Riven apologized, “I am so sorry.” Giving a quick bow, she turned and ran after Syndra. Riven had lost sight of Syndra for a moment, but she didn’t have any trouble following her path of destruction out of the hospital.

After what felt like her millionth apology, she finally caught up to Syndra in the street as she stared at a building. As Riven got closer she noticed that it was a ramen shop.

Coming up from behind, Riven slapped Syndra in the back of the head.

“Ow! What was that for?”

“What was that for? WHAT WAS THAT FOR!?!? WHAT DO YOU THINK IT WAS FOR! YOU JUST BLEW OUT HALF OF THE WALLS IN THAT HOSPITAL’S FIRST FLOOR! DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA HOW MANY APOLOGIES I HAD TO GIVE! DO YOU THink...that...was” Riven drifted off, “Oh, there they are!” Riven exclaimed as she noticed Shen and Soraka sipping tea in the window.

“I know.” Syndra deadpanned, “Jeez, I’m right next to you, you didn’t have to yell.” Syndra remarked as she rubbed her ear, following Riven into the shop. The restaurant was tiny and crowded, forcing Riven and Syndra to walk single file in order to avoid knocking into the other guests tables.

“Riven?” Soraka asked as Riven approached the table. Syndra stepped out from behind Riven so she wasn’t in the aisle, “Syndra!?? What are you two doing here?” Soraka said awkwardly.

Riven sat down next to Soraka on the right side of the table, “Someone here is Syndra’s new councilor, and invited us out to lunch before realizing they were late and then he DASHED OUT ON US WITHOUT TELLING US WHERE TO GO.” Riven’s voice changed from calm to annoyed very quickly. “Oh yeah, and your hospital has some new ‘doors’ courtesy of Syndra. Good luck!” Riven commented sarcastically.

“What?” Soraka questioned before a look of mild horror dawned on her face. “Oh Syndra, you didn’t?”

“What? What did she do?” Shen asked.

“She made Syndra doors.” Riven deadpanned.

“What are ‘Syndra doors’?” Shen questioned.

“Holes, huge holes in the wall.” Riven replied, “I HAD TO APOLOGIZE TO SO MANY PEOPLE!”

“How many holes?” Shen asked.

“About sevenish? Yeah sevenish.” Syndra responded uncaring.

Shen began staring at Syndra blankly.

“Why would you blow holes in the wall? You could've just used the hallway! Or real doors!” Soraka questioned in disbelief.

“It was faster, besides how else would I have known that I was going the right way?” Syndra replied defensively.

Soraka continued, “Again, why would going through the walls show you the right way? How did you find us anyway? I thought you said Shen didn’t tell you where we were?”

“Well, I was following the floaty surgeon thingy.”

“...What?” Riven and Soraka deadpanned in unison.

“As I was saying, I began to follow Shen’s floaty surgeon thingy. I knew it was Shen’s because it was hovering behind him our entire visit.” Syndra trailed off, “That or it was an evil spirit sent to kill him...I didn’t think of that one…”

Soraka and Riven stared at Syndra, befuddled.

“Everyone’s staring at me…it’s kind of weird.”

“What?” Soraka and Riven questioned in unison once more.

“Well, Shen’s been staring at me this entire time. And now you two are doing it as well. Not only that, but he hasn’t moved a muscle since I told him about the explosions. It’s starting to get kind of creepy.”

“Yeah, he kind of does that every once in awhile. You get used to it.” Soraka said as she gave a wave of dismissal.

“But Soraka, you’re a doctor. Shouldn’t you be concerned with your colleague having such weird episodes?” Riven asked concerned.

“I was originally, but after a few years I gave up. It became easier to call his roommates to come fix him.”

Syndra waved her hand in front of Shen’s face a few times, “Shennnnnnn. Sheeeeeeennnnn.” Syndra turned towards Riven and Soraka, “I’m AAHHHH!” Syndra jumped as Shen grabbed her wrist.

“I’m fine. Did you really make seven holes?” Shen asked, devoid of emotion.

“Yup!”

“Don’t forget his door! So technically that’s eight!”

Shen stared at Riven for a moment as she spoke. For some reason she got the odd sense that there was slight relief in his stare.

At this point the waitress came over to the table and dropped off Shen and Soraka’s meal. After that she took Riven and Syndra’s order, the rest of the meal was silent for the most part with a bit of small talk. Once they were finished eating Shen and Soraka got up, pushed their chairs in, and prepared to leave.

“Pardon us, but Soraka and I must return to work. Syndra, I will see you in my office Monday at 13:00.”

“Fine.” Syndra huffed. “But you still owe me blackmail on Zed.”

Riven raised her hand, interjecting, “I don’t think that Syndra is going to be welcomed at the hospital anytime soon. Remember the holes? That YOU have to fix now?”

“Ah, you are correct. Where would you prefer to meet then?”

“OOH I KNOW, we can meet at Irelia’s house! It’s a win-win for both of us!” Syndra chirped.

“The Lito manor? That shall do.”

“How is it a win-win though Syndra?” Soraka questioned.

“Shen gets to do his councilor thing, and I get to be with Irelia!”

“Syndra, you do realize that Irelia has work, right?” Riven asked.

“Well it’s not like they can trust you or Shen anymore, she’s the only logical choice left.”

“What do you mean they can’t trust us anymore!” Riven demanded.

“Well…...Shen ran off when he was supposed to be supervising me, and I made eight new holes in the hospital! And when I was making those holes, you didn’t do anything to stop me Riven!” Syndra responded cheerfully, with a big grin on her face. “None of this happened while Irelia was watching me, which makes her the only logical person to supervise the meetings. Irelia could take care of the paperwork, but we are pretty much dating at this point, so Shen has to be there as a formality.” Once Syndra finished, she crossed her legs, sat her elbows on the table, and gently laid her chin on her hands, giving the trio a large Cheshire smile.

 

Shen, Riven, and Soraka stared at Syndra, dumbfounded.

Resigned, Riven stated, “Sometimes I forget how smart you are.”

Syndra continued to smile smugly.

“But you’re going to explain to Irelia why we are meeting at the Manor, and why she now has to take off work for all these meetings.”

A look of dread overtook Syndra’s face, and her head slipped from her palms, hitting the table with a resounding THUD.

“Uugggh.”

* * *

 

Karma looked over past records of prisoner releases, before looking up at nothing in particular.

“I have this odd feeling that I have been proven right, yet I also have the feeling my future is bleak and filled with a massive amount of paperwork.”

  
  



	25. Tea Time

Jun noticed Captain Lito rubbing her temples while shuffling through the various documents strewn about the Captain’s desk.

“I thought we were almost done…”  Jun commented.

“We were.  A hospital with holes blown through it will do that.”  Captain Lito continued rubbing her temples as she spoke.

“Do you think we will have it fixed before snowfall?”

Captain Lito sighed, picking up her fountain pen, diligently and efficiently filling out her paperwork.  “No.  We barely made it out of the northern mountains before they were hit by a snowstorm.  Unfortunately, I wouldn’t be surprised if it was snowing right now.”

Jun nodded stoically, but otherwise did not respond, instead deciding to focus on the paperwork at hand.

After a few moments of silence The Captain spoke up, “Don’t worry Jun, they’re the best at what they do.  I’m sure they have nothing to worry about.”

Several minutes passed, the only sound that could be heard was the shuffling of papers and scribbling of pens.

“Jun.”

“Yes, Captain?”

“You’re doing it again.”

“My apologies Captain Lito, it just brings me great joy to see how far you have come in the last few years.”  Jun responded fondly.  “I remember when you first started as Captain all those years ago, you did not know the difference between your 401’s and 406’s.  It was almost adorable.  Almost.”

“I was only eighteen!  Not all of us were born quill in hand.”

Jun smirked, “That is right.  You were born sword in hand, were you not?  You know what they say about the pen and--”

“Jun, we are not getting into this again.”

“Of course, Captain Lito.”

“I’m serious, we aren’t going at it.  Again.”

“I understand Captain.”

“You’re still smirking!  You’re thinking about it aren’t you!”

“Am I?  I do apologize.  I was just thinking of 418 and 426’s”

The Captain paused, before looking up at Jun.  “Yes, Jasmine for the first one, and no I’m not updating my argument.  Do you remember how many days we spent debating this last time!?”

“Very good Captain Lito.”

As Jun was about to leave, there was a faint sound that caused both of them to pause.

“Was that you?”  Jun asked.

“No, I think it was...knocking?”  The captain got back to work, not letting the noise bother her for a moment longer.

The sound came again, causing the two to turn their attention towards the door.  Puzzled, Jun walked slowly over towards the door.  Today was intentionally blocked out exclusively for paperwork.  They should not have been expecting any visitors.  Jun slowly opened the door, revealing a young woman wearing a white coat, boots, and earmuffs.  A light blue….hat?  And a mini dress of the same color.  Black gloves and stockings, and most confusing of all a light and dark pink striped scarf.

_ Odd.  I did not think it was that cold out yet.  If she is cold, why does she wear such a short dress?  The world of fashion will always be a mystery to me. _

The woman’s expression started off happy as she said “Irel---” quickly changing to a cold glare when she noticed it was not the Captain standing in front of her, “Who are you?”  Her voice as cold as the weather she was supposedly preparing for.

_ My, my.  Someone is testy today, isn’t she?  Well, formalities are a must.   _ With that Jun gave a quick bow before responding.  “Jun.  I am Captain Lito’s secretary.”

The young woman rudely barged into the Captain’s office, forcing Jun to move to the side.

“There you are!  Do you like my new outfit?”

“I can’t believe that she convinced us to go shopping first.”  A voice outside grumbled.

Jun peered outside to find Ms. Riven along with the Eye of Twilight leaning against the wall opposite Captain Lito’s door.  Turning back towards Captain Lito, Jun caught the tail end of the woman’s sentence.

“---had a secretary?”

“Yes.  Without Jun I wouldn’t have been able to leave the capital with you and Riven.”

“Pardon me for interrupting Captain, but shall I grab a pot of tea instead for you and your…”  Jun glanced at the woman standing next to Captain Lito and back towards Ms. Riven and the Eye of Twilight ”guests?”

“That would be greatly appreciated.”

After giving another quick bow, Jun vacated the room.  Upon exiting into the hallway Jun turned to Ms. Riven.  “Is Jasmine tea to your liking Ms. Riven?”

Ms. Riven stared suspiciously, “How do you know my name?

“I was the one who processed your paperwork so you could stay in Ionia, and subsequently with Captain Lito.”

“Oh, thanks!”  Ms. Riven extended a closed fist out towards Jun.

Jun raised an eyebrow, not understanding the gesture, before finally giving a bow.  “It was my pleasure, Ms. Riven.”  

Ms. Riven retracted her hand and started to rub her arm awkwardly before mumbling, “Or you could leave me hanging, that’s fine.  Sure, whatever.”

Turning towards The Eye of Twilight “Is Jasmine to your liking Eye of Twilight?”

“Ku ding, please.”

“A fan of bitter teas are we?  Interesting.”

A shout from inside Captain Lito’s office caused Jun and Ms. Riven to flinch.  “YOU DID WHAT?!?!?”

“We are so dead...”  Ms. Riven mumbled.

“I believe that is my cue to leave.  I shall return with your tea’s at once.”

After methodically preparing the tea Jun returned, and was surprised to find the hallway empty.  Upon entering Captain Lito’s office, Jun found that the occupants had instead moved to the corner of her office next to her bookshelf.  All of them with their heads down, silent as the Captain was quickly and furiously writing away at a document in front of her.  Jun gave them their cups of tea first before finishing with Captain Lito’s, setting the tray, and teapot on a shelf out of the way.

“Try not to be so forceful with the pen Captain, you would not want to rip through the paper again.”

Jun took in the aroma of the tea before taking a sip.  While Captain Lito did not respond, the pressure she was putting on her pen did decrease a little bit.  Not enough for Jun’s liking though.

“I will be paying Dutchess Karma a visit in a few minutes before heading home.  Shen will be making me dinner as repayment for his hand in the extra paperwork he caused us.”

“What about your dinner plans with the Lady Soraka tonight?”  Jun commented between sips, enjoying strong aroma of the Jasmine tea.

“Shen is fetching her and dinner supplies as we speak.”

Upon turning around, Jun noticed the tea cup on the tray and that The Eye of Twilight was indeed missing.  “So he is, very well then.”

“Also, I won’t be in at the start of next week.  Syndra over there is going to be help repair all the hospital walls,”   Captain Lito leaned over for a moment, looking past Jun, directing her statement at the woman in the corner.  “RIGHT?”

After a moment the woman in the corner mumbled something that Jun could not understand.

“I’m going to see over the repairs personally, so can you ensure that we have all the necessary supplies?  Also make sure someone is there to guide her.  We don’t want to make anything worse, now do we Syndra?”

Jun leaned over grabbing the teapot, refilling both teacups on the desk.  “I am going to assume that each of these three are repaying you in some way, with Ms. Syndra repairing the hospital and The Eye of Twilight cooking you dinner?  So what is it that Ms. Riven will be doing for you?”

“I haven’t decided yet.”  The Captain responded before taking a long sip of tea

“May I make a suggestion?”

“Yes?”  Captain Lito asked as she set the cup down.

“Why not a spa?  I’m afraid that all the stress is going to start taking a toll on your appearance.”

Captain Lito glared at Jun, “Are you trying to say something Jun?”

“Of course not Captain, I am merely suggesting that some relaxation will do you some good.  Also, perhaps it shall remind you on proper tea etiquette.  Sip and savor, tea is not made to gulped.”

Captain Lito picked up the teapot, filling her cup to the brim, and downed the drink in a single gulp.

“Why do you hurt me so, Captain.”  Jun muttered.

“I’m ignoring that last remark.  Unfortunately, a decent portion of Riven’s living wages comes from my paycheck as is.  I would practically be treating myself, which sort of defeats the purpose.  I will drink my tea as I please, it is meant to hydrate me.  Nothing more, nothing less.”

“Where have I gone wrong with you…”  Jun sighed despondently.

“I always thought Irelia savored her tea.  It takes her ten minutes to finish a single cup.”  Ms. Syndra whispered quizzically to Ms. Riven.

Ms. Riven leaned towards Ms. Syndra, “I’m still trying to figure out whether they’re arguing or having a casual conversation.”

“I don’t know, I gave up on that five minutes ago.”

Jun turned towards Ms. Syndra, “Ten minutes you say?”  Before turning back towards the Captain who was now getting ready to leave.

“Would you mind keeping my guests occupied while I pay Karma a visit?”

“Oh of course not Captain.”

After a moment Captain Lito started to make her way out of the room as Jun turned towards Ms. Syndra and Ms. Riven.

“So, how much does the Captain practice her calligraphy at home?  No wait, how often does she read reports and do paperwork?”  Jun asked with a smirk.

The captain stiffened like a chill went up her spine as she walked out the door.  Without turning around she responded, “please don’t pry into my personal life too much Jun.”

“Of course not Captain.”  Jun repeated again, catching Ms. Syndra in some sort of odd half glare.

“Syndra.  What is that look?”  Ms. Riven asked, “Are you glaring or not?”

“I’m sorry did I do something wrong?”  Jun asked.   _ I’m not going to get an answer to my question am I? _

“I still don’t know how to feel about you.”  Ms. Syndra raised up her left hand like she was holding something in it.  “On one hand you want to talk about Irelia,”  Raising up her hand she continued, “but on the other your topic bores me.”

Jun recoiled a bit in surprise, “Boring!?  Paperwork is not boring.  It is the foundation this society is built upon.  Without it you two would of been kicked out of here long ago.”

“I thought Ionia was all about magic, balance, and a bunch spiritual mumbo jumbo?”  Ms. Riven questioned with exaggerated hand motions

“Yes, all, BORING!  Except magic, magic is fun!”  Ms. Syndra chimed in with a grin

Jun sighed, “Of course, all that is ---”

“Especially when you blow stuff up!  There are so many different ways too!  You can ---”

Jun tuned Ms. Syndra out as she was prattling on about the more uncivilized aspects of magic.   _ Is this how the Youth of today behave?  I was concerned with Captain Lito being obsessed with going out on patrol, but this is preposterous. _ _ I may need to visit Duchess Karma, some proper afternoon tea with her may put my nerves at ease. _

Jun’s attention was brought back to reality by the rising sound of conflicting voices.

“Syndra!  You’re doing it again.”

The interruption caused Ms. Syndra to stop and take a moment to catch her breath, “Oh, right.  I’ll stop now.”  She responded with a giggle that was way to innocent for the violence she was prattling on about.

Ms. Riven sighed, “If you will please excuse us Jun, I’m going to take Syndra outside for some fresh air.  She’s getting all explody again.”  Ms. Riven appeared to stare off into the distance in thought for a moment, “and I’d rather not figure out how pissed Irelia would be if she blew up her office.”

Once the two women had left the office Jun was finally able to concentrate on work again.  The whole ordeal with all of Captain Lito’s guests today was exhausting.  Tonights dinner would be very relaxing to compensate for the chaos that today's interruptions brought.  Jun made a mental note to ask the Captain how she managed to put up with all these shenanigans on a daily basis.

 

* * *

 

“Hey Syndra, was Jun a guy or girl?”

“Honestly I couldn’t tell.  Their aura was weird!”  Syndra responded.

“Aura?”  Riven questioned.

“Yeah that thing that everyone has that makes me great at hide-n-seek.”  

“Okay, Syndra sure.  By the way I think you’re starting to scare people.  At the very least they’re starting to stare.”  Riven commented

“Why’s that?”  Syndra asked

“Where do I start?  Well you are juggling a bunch of spheres, that I have seen blow up people and objects by the way, while floating upside down.  In a skirt.  What about that is normal?!?  Which reminds me, why do you always wear mini-skirts if you enjoy flying and floating upside down so much?”

Syndra continued ‘juggling’ seven of her dark spheres around her in a circle.  To any onlookers it would appear as if gravity was reversed as the spheres flew upwards as she ‘threw’ them towards the ground.  Syndra paused for a moment before deciding to answer Riven’s questions, “They only blow up when I want them to, floating upside down is fun and helps me think.  I enjoy the freedom of skirts, and with magic I can make sure it always stays down.  Unless I want to tease Irelia, and what about me is normal?  Wait, did I say that Irelia part out loud?”

“Yes.”  Irelia responded curtly, appearing out of nowhere, surprising Syndra causing her heart to jump for a moment.  Irelia walked past Syndra and Riven, “Let’s go, Soraka’s waiting.”  Not waiting or checking to see if Riven and Syndra were following.

Syndra righted herself next to Riven, who was still standing next to her.  “She might be a bit mad.”

“You think?  What was your first clue?  Just don’t say anything stupid.  She’s already pretty pissed at us, I’d rather you didn’t make it worse.”  Riven sarcastically replied.

Syndra floated catching up with Irelia, Riven trailing behind her slightly.  As she floated up next to Irelia, Syndra noticed she was carrying a decent size folder in her right hand.  She couldn’t put her finger on it, but it looked different from the usual paperwork Irelia would sometimes bring home.

“What’s with the folder?  More paperwork?”

“No.”  Irelia’s tone hadn’t lightened up in the slightest.

“Are you still mad about the hospital?  I agreed to fix it.”

“Do you have any concept of reprecussion!?”  Irelia snapped at Syndra

Syndra flinched a bit, caught off-guard.   _ Yep, she’s mad. _

“You can’t just blow things up and think everything will be okay!  Just because you agree to fix it doesn’t mean that everyone can act like nothing happened!”

“Irelia, what happened while you were talking to Karma?”  Riven asked hesitantly.

“The council wants to banish Syndra from the Placidium.  ”

“Pfft.  They can try.”  Syndra’s voice was confident, but also annoyed.  “It wouldn’t be the first time.”

“You don’t get it do you!?  That casual attitude is the main reason this is an issue!  Where would you go if you couldn’t return to my home?” Irelia paused for a moment.  “Originally they wanted to arrest you and place magic dampeners in the cell to weaken, or even nullify your magic.  I told them it wouldn’t---”

Syndra didn’t hear the rest of what Irelia said, her mind instead focusing on the part about nullifying magic.

_ Can my magic be nullified completely?  Could I live without magic?   _ Syndra shuddered at the thought.

**_They’ve done something similar before, and they would do it again._ **

Syndra extended her hand out in front of her, forming a dark sphere in her palm.  “How about I help you repair the hospital, the ‘council’ of ‘elders’ will leave me alone, and I won’t turn their precious Placidium into a crater.”  Syndra said with a sinister smile as she closed her hand, dissipating the dark sphere.  She tried to hide her malice as best she could.

**_But could you?_ **

_ Who in the council would stand against me? _

**_What about Irelia?   Do you think she would choose you over her country?_ **

_ Your prattling bores me, if Irelia is my downfall then so be it.  I knew what I was getting myself into. _

“That’s why you will still need to report to Shen, but I will also be present for these meetings.  To ensure they stay on track.”

“You mean I get to see you at work too!”  Syndra moved in to hug Irelia.

Irelia held out her hand blocking Syndra, “Nope.  Still mad.”

Riven looked at Syndra “How is it that even when you lose, you somehow still win?”  A few moments went by before she commented again, “Wait, what was that mood swing?”

Syndra shrugged, “First we were talking about the dumb council, and then Irelia told me I get to spend more time with her.  What’s not to love about that!?”

Riven stared at her bewildered, “But that’s not how...okay, whatever.”  She finished, giving up on the topic as they made their way up the Lito manor path.  “I wonder if we beat Shen and Soraka here.”

“There are two people inside.”  Syndra could feel and see the aura of two people inside the house.  One was familiar, but felt off for a reason she couldn’t put her finger on.  The other she had felt twice before, once at the temple and the other was a long time ago.  

“Did you lock my house before you two left this morning?”  Irelia asked as she was getting her keys out of her pocket.

“Yes, but I wouldn’t be surprised if Shen could break into your house.  He is a flippin ninja after all.”  Riven responded nonchalantly.  “Do you know who it is Syndra?”

“Nope.”  Syndra responded as Irelia opened the door.

Irelia walked in first with Riven close behind her.  Upon getting into the entryway they stopped.  Irelia immediately raised her blades and pointed them somewhere towards the kitchen, Riven brought her Zweihander up in front of her ready to strike.

Syndra tried to peer past the two women in front of her, but couldn’t see a thing.   _ Why are they so tall?!?   _ Then she glanced up at the ceiling for a moment,  _ Ugh.  Why does she have such low ceilings? _  Syndra lifted her hands up in front of her, and parted the two women in front of her.  Sitting at the table facing the doorway was a large...man?  Wearing thick gray robes with red cuffs.  On his face was a golden mask with two eye holes and a tiny mouth hole.

_ What is with guys and their masks?  This is why I’m not attracted to men. _

**_There are many reasons why you aren’t attracted to men._ **

_ Shut up, no one asked you. _

His hair was so messy and confusing that it gave people with white hair a bad name.  It was everywhere, you couldn’t even see his face.

_ Where does his hair begin and end?  Is that a weird combover or did his beard just take over his entire face?  Does he have a braid for his beard and hair???  Whatever, who’s this other person brooding in the corner? _

Syndra couldn’t get a good look at the figure in the corner, but the aura felt familiar.  As did the way they were standing broodily in the corner shrouded by...shadows.

“Zed?!?  Is that you?”  Syndra floated her way over towards the shadow in the corner, carefully avoiding the lights and chandelier.

Meanwhile, Irelia and Riven asked in unison.  “That’s Zed?”

“Why didn’t you tell us?”  Irelia questioned, her voice more relaxed and maybe a bit disappointed.

“Aw, I was ready for a fight.”  Riven pouted.

“Not in my house!”  Irelia quickly responded.

“Well he feels different.  His shadow feels one way, and he feels another way.  It’s how I tell them apart, but right now he feels like a mixture between the two.”  Syndra paused for a moment, a smirk appearing on her face.  “Hey Zed.”  Syndra drawled, “Why don’t you step into the light?  Hmm?  That way Irelia and Riven can get a good look at you.  It’s been so long since they’ve seen you.”

“No.  I am perfectly comfortable in the corner.”  The figure replied curtly.

“Come on, that’s a pretty nice outfit you have on.  You should show it to them!”  Syndra teased.

“How about no.”  Zed denied.

“How about yes!”  Syndra exclaimed as she surrounded the figure with her magic and pulled him into the light.

“I thought you said that was Zed!?  That’s his shadow!”  Riven yelped.

“It is Zed, that’s why I couldn’t recognized him at first.”  Syndra wrapped her arm around Zed, “Now Zed, I think it’s story time!”  Syndra used her magic to flip chairs around facing towards Zed.

“I agree.”  A deep voice stated.

Syndra, Irelia, and Riven all jumped.  Syndra clutched at her chest as she gasped for air, startled.  “Damn.  Fucking.  Ninja’s.”  Syndra gasped out..

“Sorry.  The door was open so we wanted to make sure everything was okay.”  Soraka apologized.  “Though I must say, I am impressed Shen managed to walk so quietly with all those groceries.”

Shen walked over to the kitchen island, set the groceries down, and started unpacking them.  “I would like to know why it is you are a shadow now.”

“I’m not telling you.”

Riven walked up to Zed, and started poking at him with her finger.  Shuddering as it went straight through Zed.  “That’s cold and feels weird.”

“Then stop doing it!”  Zed snarled.

“I can’t help you if you don’t tell us anything Zed.”  Shen remarked in a passionless tone, as he got out the cookware for dinner.

“I don’t need-”

“Cut the crap.”  Irelia interjected, “Zed you are a shadow, Shen...why are you cooking while having a serious conversation, what the hell is going on!?”

“I love it when Irelia gets mad, and not at me.  Brings out her feistiness!”

Irelia continued, ignoring Syndra’s comment, “Syndra pin Zed down, Riven turn off the stove, and Soraka!  Please close the door, thank you.  We are not leaving here until I get answers!  Also, who the hell are you!”  Irelia frustratedly pointed towards the figure still sitting at the table.

“I thought he was your friend!”  Zed exclaimed as Syndra forced him into a chair.

“What?  Why would I know this guy!?  How long have you been in here with him?!?!?”

Zed tried to shrug, but failed due to Syndra’s magic. “Couple hours?”

“And you didn’t think it was weird that he was here!?”

“Look, you kind of have a thing for taking strangers into your house.  You took Riven and Syndra in barely knowing them!  How was I supposed to know he wasn’t just another person you decided to adapt?”

“He has a point.”  Soraka added in.

Irelia looked like she was about to respond, but instead she turned her attention towards the figure sitting at the table, “Who are you, and why are you in my house?”

“That’s Bard.”  Soraka answered.

The figure raised its hand in a friendly wave, and replied, “♩


	26. Finally!  Explanations!

“Alright, Zed please explain to me what the hell has been going on with you and your order in the last few weeks.”

Zed’s shadowy brow furrowed into a glare at the boldness of Irelia’s statement.

“Don’t you glare at me.” Irelia snapped, “We haven’t heard from you in weeks, my desk is piling up with reports on temples being attacked by shadowy figures that fits your description, and now you show up as a shadow. So please, enlighten me.”

Zed leaned forward as much as he could, “I owe you no such explanation. I only came here to find Syndra.”

“How’d you know to find her here?” Riven asked

Irelia glanced over at Riven for a moment before returning a piercing gaze to Zed.

“It wasn’t hard. She hasn’t left you since the Harrowing.”

“The paperwork on my desk begs to differ.”

Syndra whistled nonchalantly at the comment, but otherwise kept Zed restrained.

Irelia started talking again after a few moments when Zed didn’t bother speaking, “You do realize that even if I let you talk to Syndra privately, she will just tell me later anyway. Right?”

“I don’t need your help.”

“Damn pride.” Irelia mumbled to herself, “Alright, fine. We will do this this hard way.” With the way Zed looked at Irelia, she could have swore he raised his eyebrow under his mask. “Syndra, torment him as you please. Nothing is off limits, as long as you don’t break my belongings. AND my city.”

With that Irelia walked away and turned her attention to Soraka and Bard. “So he doesn’t speak any Ionian, at all?”

Soraka shook her head side to side, “I’m sorry, he only speaks Celestial.”

Irelia gave out a long sigh, “How are we supposed to communicate with him then?”

“Celestial beings can understand all mortal languages, so there is no issue there.”

“If he is smart enough to understand all our languages, then why can’t he speak them?”

“Bard isn’t much for talking. He doesn’t typically mettle directly in the affairs of mortals, usually when he does he orchestrates events thousands of years in advance.” Soraka turned to Bard raising her crescent moon staff up towards his neck, causing Bard to put his hands up defensively and lean back. “If I found that you were involved in the events causing me to take a mortal form, I will show you the true terror of the banana.”

Soraka then returned her gaze to Irelia.

“Why do I get one of the few Celestial beings that doesn’t speak?” Irelia mumbled to herself.

“Why is he,” Irelia turned her attention towards Bard from Soraka, remembering he could understand her, “Why are you here? I thought you meddled in the past, not the present?”

Soraka diligently listened as Bard chimed a jaunty tune, after about 30 seconds Soraka interrupted him.

“Do you want me to translate all that? Because if you want me to translate all that, you should slow down and let me speak.”

Bard began chiming again, but at a much slower pace this time. His tone however didn’t falter even through the interruption, Irelia thought that the tone was...whimsical? She had a hard time knowing, it was difficult to make out expressions on Bard. Was there a face behind his mask, or was the mask his face? While pondering the strangeness of the celestial beings appearance, Irelia caught a glimpse of Shen muttering something to Syndra. She didn’t catch the words, but judging by Syndra’s gleeful squeal and follow up laughter she seemed to enjoy it.

“Stop.” Soraka interrupted, “If you want everything to be translated then give me some time to do so. This is going to take a bit of catching up.” Taking a deep breath she turned towards Irelia, “Bard is a little confused as to why everyone is here. In the timeline that he was expecting, there were a few key differences. Zed and Syndra’s...first meeting and type of relationship.”

“Their relationship? W-what’s that supposed to mean?” Irelia stuttered out as a sense of dread washed over her.

This time Bard jingled a short sentences before letting Soraka translate a few times.

“Originally, Zed and Syndra were supposed to be together.” Soraka paused as Bard chimed some more, “But for some reason this time, Syndra and Irelia are together. WAIT WHAT!” Soraka exclaimed, looking back and forth between Syndra and Irelia. “I’m sorry, but I had no idea you swung that way. I mean not that it matters, but I just, umm I’m going to shut up now.”

Irelia was surprised, and confused, to find that the thought of Syndra being with Zed bothered her more than she thought it would. Just thinking about it made Irelia feel…jealous? She had to shake herself out of her own thoughts to refocus.

“Zed and I, together?” Syndra shuttered, “That’s not going to happen.”

“Ever.” Zed added.

* * *

 

Syndra tapped her fingers together menacingly as a grin formed on her face. _Anything I want she says._

Syndra summoned a medium size dark sphere in the palm of her hand, she tossed it up in the air a couple times, adjusting its shape slightly each time, before deciding that she had an acceptable size.

“Could I always make them this light?” Syndra pondered to herself, admiring her work.

“You better not do what I think you’re about to do.” Zed growled.

“Don’t worry, I am!” Syndra replied maliciously before serving her dark sphere right into the side of Zed’s head. She spent the next few minutes giggling as she floated around Zed, continuing her game.

“Considering what I’ve seen those orbs do, her giggling should be really be creepy but somehow it’s downright cute. But I really doubt that this is going to get Zed to say anything.” Riven commented.

“No.” Shen responded while slowly sipping some tea that he had brewed. He stared intently at Zed.

“You’re enjoying this aren’t you?”

“More than you can imagine.”

Riven let out a sigh, “Ionians are freaking weird.”

Syndra got bored and moved on to her next way of ‘torturing’ Zed, repeatedly poking him in the face. All while saying poke every time she touched him.

Riven got up and walked over opposite of Syndra, “Am I the only one questioning how she’s touching him? I mean he’s a shadow right?” Riven reached out her hand, but quickly retracted it, shivering, after it phased through Zed’s form. “How do you keep doing that? I barely touched him and my hand feels like I left it in the Freljord for week!”

“That’s why I wear gloves!” Syndra responded with a smile as she put her hands out for Riven to see, into Zed’s face causing him to be pushed away from her towards Riven. Riven gave her an annoyed and unamused glare. Syndra responded with a simple, “What?”

Riven gave out a long sigh before mumbling to herself, “Why do I put up with this?”

“This is nothing, I’ve been putting up with her for nearly half a decade.” Zed commented as Syndra’s finger jabbed him in the cheek.

“I hope you know, that you’re half of my current problems. If you would just tell Irelia why you’re here, we could move on, and I could finally get some dinner!” Riven rambled.

Syndra caught a glimpse of Shen out of the corner of her eye, staring past her to Zed. _I wonder if Shen knows of any ways to torture Zed. They’ve known each other a long time, right?_ Walking over towards Shen, Syndra asked, “You’re Zed’s brother right?”

“Adopted.” Zed clarified.

Syndra rolled her eyes but otherwise continued, “Last time we met you told me some of Zed’s quirks. Do you have any others, that may be useful in this situation?”

Shen shifted his gaze down to Syndra, who was at least a heads height shorter than him, “I may have a suggestion or two.” Shen responded before whispering to Syndra.

“Why don’t you want to tell Irelia whatever it is you want Syndra to know?” Riven asked.

“I have no qualms with you or Irelia, my issue is with him.” Zed then briefly turned his gaze towards Shen. “I don’t need or want his help.”

At this time Syndra overheard the conversation going on between Bard, Irelia, and Soraka. Specifically a comment about her being with Zed instead of Irelia.

“Zed and I, together?” Syndra shuttered, “That’s not going to happen.”

“Ever.” Zed added.

“Irelia, can you come back over here and join us now? I have something to show you!” After a few quick exchanges with Soraka, Irelia made her way over next to Syndra.

“Did he give you any information?”

Syndra stiffened, realizing that she forgot to even attempt to ask questions. “Umm...Riven can’t touch Zed and she’s hungry!”

Irelia let out an audible sigh as she sat down in a chair that was across from Zed.

“She’s not wrong.” Riven added.

“Sorry.” Syndra apologized.

“It’s okay...I’m not quite sure what I expected.” Irelia fell back into her habit of massaging her temples. Syndra wasn’t sure if this was a new habit she had picked up, or an old one from the stress of her job. “Shen, can you start dinner?”

Without a word Shen flicked the stove back on and picked right back up where he left off in preparing dinner.

Riven leaned over towards Irelia and said in a low voice that Syndra could barely hear, “If it helps, Zed told me that he just doesn’t want Shen’s help.”

“Thank you, it helps a little. What was it you wanted to show me Syndra?”

“Oh right!” Syndra perked up, then lifted Zed and his chair off the ground and turned them upside down.

Riven leaned over towards Syndra “Why are you floating him upside down?”

“Give it a minute.” Syndra responded, staring intently at Zed.

“What are you hoping will-” Riven was interrupted by the sound of gasping air.

Syndra busted out laughing as she heard the sound, “I can’t believe it worked!”

Irelia looked up and Riven turned her attention towards Zed, “Did he just hiccup?”

Syndra clutched her stomach, nearly dropping to the floor from laughter. “This is AMAZING!”

“I hate ” *hiccup* “you so much” *hiccup* “right now.” *hiccup*

“Do I even want to know?” Irelia asked.

Syndra started to respond, but was laughing so hard she only managed to get Shen’s name out a few times before succumbing to her laughing fit; as tears started forming at the corner of her eyes.

A few moments later Shen took the liberty of answering for Syndra, “Zed gets hiccups whenever he is upside down.”

Irelia looked at Shen bewildered, “........what? That doesn’t even make sense.”

Riven glanced between Irelia and Shen, “Am I the only one who’s questioning how a ghost, shadow, thing is hiccuping? That shouldn’t be physically possible, right?”

“Well-” Syndra started to respond, but was quickly interrupted by Riven.

“And don’t say: ‘because magic’ either!”

Syndra shrugged her shoulders, “Then I got nothing.”

“It’s most likely psychosomatic.” Soraka answered, seemingly coming out of nowhere. Surprised, Riven and Syndra both gasped and jumped.

After a moment Riven composed herself, “Can you put that into words I understand? My Ionian isn’t THAT good.”

“It’s in his head. He hiccups because he thinks he has too, consciously or subconsciously.” Soraka responded plainly, as if she was talking to a patient.

“Why does he think he has to hiccup when he is upside down?”

“Probably something that happened to him a long time ago. No doubt SOMEONE we know was involved.” As she finished speaking, Soraka gave an accusing glance past Syndra towards Shen.

Zed looked over towards Riven, “I’d like her gone as well.”

“How about this, after dinner everyone goes home. Then we can talk privately, and you can tell me EVERYTHING.” Irelia stated matter of factly.

“Or you could just go talk in another room alone.” Syndra remarked casually.

Irelia looked slightly surprised, but mostly embarrassed for not thinking of such an obvious idea. “That, would be acceptable.”

“Can you let me out of the chair now?” Zed requested in a perturbed tone.

Irelia looked at him skeptically, “As long as you don’t plan on leaving just because Shen is here.”

“Fine.”

Irelia glanced over towards Syndra, “Can you let him go please?” Irelia moved so she could see everyone, “before moving forward, is there anything else I should know?”

Bard chimed a bit and Soraka argued with him telling him it was irrelevant.

Irelia cleared her throat, “Ahem. Anything else I should know.”

“Bard thought it was important for you to know that you were supposed to end up with Riven as well.”

Irelia and Riven looked at each other, gave a quick look not so subtle glance over each other before Irelia responding in a placid manner, “Yeah, I could see that.”

Riven chimed in in agreement looking at Irelia, “Given enough time yeah. She does have a nice body. I would be lying if I said I wasn’t at least a little bit jealous of how small and perky your boobs are.”

“I know right!” Syndra exclaimed, “Doesn’t she also have the cutest butt!”

“I’m starting to feel really self-conscious right now.” Irelia crossed her arms, “Also you are taking her checking me out better than I expected.” Irelia remarked.

“What? We’ve been traveling together for a while, I may have taken a few glances when you two were changing. I expect you two did the same.” Riven stated defensively.

“Nah, it’s fine, Riven and I are cool. Besides she may join us one day!”

“I’m flattered Syndra, I really am; but you have to get there yourself first before you can start inviting other people into your relationship.” Riven responded with a smirk.

“Okay! Shen is dinner ready?” Irelia stood up and asked as Syndra disappeared quietly into the corner.

Shen took a bite of the beef and a sip of the sauce he had prepared, satisfied he nodded in approval towards Irelia.

Over the next two hours everyone had the dinner that Shen had prepared for them, with Zed making remarks about things he thought Shen was doing wrong while preparing it, along with Irelia and Zed talking privately in her training room. Irelia was surprised how much Zed had told her, considering his earlier stubbornness. He told her how the shadow had changed and grown more powerful over the years, what little he could recall about the destruction of the temples, the eventual loss of his body, his suspicion the shadow had pawns within Ionia’s upper echelon, and that his students were most likely being taken over by shadows.

Irelia took a moment to take in all of the information that Zed had said. Than prioritized her thoughts into what she could deal with from most important to least important. “I can’t do much for your students unfortunately, but I may be able to do something here. Are you sure that the shadow has pawns that high up? Do you have any evidence, or know how many pawns it has?”

“No physical evidence unfortunately. I caught the shadow coming to the Placidium a lot when he thought I wasn’t paying any attention. After doing reconnaissance I found that he seemed to be paying attention to a select few individuals, one in particular though. I caught up to him a while back and attempted to extract information from him,” Zed let out a sigh, “but was unfortunately interrupted by my dear brother, my ex-girlfriend, and that annoying yordle. So I came away empty handed.”

“And that individual would be?”

“One Elder Azrael.”

Irelia’s eye’s went wide in shock, “Azrael? You’re positive about that? How is that even possible? He has been on the council for years, his last distinction would of shown that something was off.”

Zed shrugged his shoulders, “It could’ve been after the distinction, maybe he was foolish and thought they could convert the shadow to good. I don’t know how it happened, I just know that it did at some point.”

“Alright. I will see what I can do, I doubt I could touch him, but we are both good friends with Karma. Maybe she has noticed something off about him recently. Anything else, or shall we rejoin the others?”

“Irelia, I have one more question and a request to make of you. Do you know how Syndra’s magic is able to affect me?”

Irelia looked off, at nothing in particular, thinking for a moment, “Can’t say I do. I assumed it had something to do with you being magical. Unfortunately my knowledge of magic is fairly limited.” With that Irelia walked back out and rejoined everyone in the living room, Zed following a short time later.

“So, what did you learn?” Riven asked Irelia as she came back.

Irelia plopped herself down into a comfy chair, laid her head back, and closed her eyes as she looked up towards the ceiling. “I can catch everyone up tomorrow, Kennen and Akali aren’t here anyway and it’d be easiest to have everyone here at once for an explanation. For now it’s late, and I would like to get some rest. It’s been a long day.” Irelia tilted her head towards Soraka, opening her eyes a little to make eye contact. “Soraka, can you take care of Bard? I don’t have any spare rooms left, and you are the only one who can understand him as is.” Soraka sighed, but acknowledged that she could and Irelia closed her eyes again.

“Hey! I can understand him too!” Syndra pretended to pout, “No one bothered to ask me.” Then her tone turned more sinister, “Also I was busy with Zed.”

Soraka started to cough as she took a sip of some coffee that Shen had made for himself, her, and Riven. “You can!? I didn’t think, I mean I thought it was a possibility, but I figured it had to be taught.”

“Yeah, he was speaking pretty clearly to me.”

Irelia brought herself up to a proper sitting position before asking, “Soraka, please explain.”

Soraka fumbled her words attempting to figure out a proper way to explain her answer, “Well, you see, it turns out that. Umm, how do I say this. Syndra is kind of...like me.”

Riven’s expression turned to a puzzled look, “Like you? Maybe it’s because I’m not from around here, but I don’t quite follow. I know you’re not human, but what are you exactly?”

“I am formerly a Celestial being, or as your kind like to call us, a goddess.”

“WAIT WHAT!” Irelia and Riven exclaimed simultaneously, as they looked over towards Syndra. Syndra put her hands up, shrugging in a manner to indicate she either didn’t know how to respond or didn’t know what Soraka was talking about.

“That would explain her magic I guess.” Riven muttered.

“You would think, but I only have access to a small portion of my magic from before.” Soraka explained as she summoned a tiny Equinox in the palm of her hand and stared at it longingly. “I’d wager it helps a little, but most of her magical ability is her own.”

“If this is true, then why is she here? Is it because of Bard?” Irelia asked.

Soraka glanced over at Bard for a moment, who chimed a short jingle. “From what I’ve been able to gather from Bard, and piecing things together myself as Bard hasn’t told me everything. Bard made Syndra mortal and sent her here, because something was going to happen where she will be useful. However, I’m not sure if that’s even accurate anymore. Something happened at some point to cause events not to occur how Bard predicted they would happen.” Soraka quickly glanced towards Bard briefly before turning her gaze to Syndra. “If I had to guess, no offense Syndra, but it probably has something to do with you not behaving as he predicted.”

Syndra got up and walked over towards Soraka, “Look, I don’t know anything about this goddess crap you’re talking about, nor do I really care. I will help Zed because he’s my friend, also he makes me good food, is fun to mess with, and his responses are entertaining.”

“Thanks. Glad to know I am so important to you.” Zed interjected sarcastically.

“However, don’t you dare tell me that someone else has already planned my life out for me. I make my own decisions, I am in control of my life, and if destiny exists, you better be damn sure that I control my own destiny as well.”

“Okay then, Syndra can I talk to you outside? Maybe we can cool off a little bit.”

“Fine” Syndra muttered as she left with Zed.

“Please don’t blow up anymore of my city!” Irelia called out as they left.

Soraka let out a long sigh, “That could have gone a bit better.”

* * *

 

Syndra and Zed wandered the dimly streets of the Placidium for half an hour together, the first half of their time together was spent with Syndra ranting to Zed about what Soraka had said while Zed merely listened to her. The second half of their journey as they made their way back towards Irelia’s house was more interactive, as Syndra had returned to acting like her normal-self. It mostly consisted of Syndra catching Zed up with what Irelia, Riven, and her had been doing since they had last talked. Even though he protested , Zed learned more about Irelia than he cared to.

“So what was it that you wanted to talk to me about?” Syndra finally asked.

“I was hoping to avoid having to tell you this, given my current circumstances, however I would rather the shadow didn’t use it against you.”

Syndra didn’t say a word in response, but she was looking at him with a curious look.

“Truthfully it’s been eating me up inside for years.” Zed let out a long ghostly sigh, “You know how you were kidnapped from your family when you were a child?”

Syndra stopped walking and stood completely, three hextech lamps and a nearby bench shattered around them as they were hit by stray bursts of magic. The area around them was now for the most part pitch black, “How do you know that? I’ve only ever told one person about that.”

Zed kept facing towards Syndra, but his eyes darted around to find some quick escape routes should worst come to worst. _Why’d they have to go and piss her off_ **_right_ ** _before I had a chance to talk to her?_

“I know, because I was the one they hired to kidnap you. Your mother’s scream from that night still gives me nightmares.”

The floor beneath them visibly cracked, the lampposts and metal fences bent under magical while Syndra still stood motionless. “Where are they?” Syndra’s voice cracked as tears began to flow down her cheeks.

“I don’t know. The house has long been --”

Syndra gulped, and nodded slightly in the darkness. “Leave, before I do something I may regret.”

“Syndra, I’m sorry.”

“Leave! Now!” Syndra shouted, but Zed was already gone.

About ten minutes later Irelia would come running and find Syndra sobbing around rubble, and carry her back to her house.

* * *

 

**Sorry about the somber ending of the chapter, I promise the next chapter will be much more lighthearted!**

**Funfact, Bard/Soraka's comments about the original relationships is actually true!  When I originally started thinking about writing this story it was going to be ZedxSyndra (because of the web comic and _The Twilights Shadow_ by MeltedJuJubees), then after reading some RivxIrelia (I believe it was a  _A Shattered Mind_ in this case, great story btw.  If you haven't go check it out!) I thought lets do that!  Then after reading  _Behind the Veil of Power_ by MemoryOfNothing and finding very little SyndraxIrelia I deicded to throw my hat into the ring and set out to change that!**

**Funfact #2 The 4 tagged main characters all have different sexualities.  I will give you one, Syndra is homosexual :)**


	27. Countdown to Snowdown!

Irelia watched as her guards did their free form training.  Some dueled one another, others practiced fighting drills, a few trained their traditional Ionian martial arts forms or self-defense.  About fifteen minutes prior they had completed one of the workout and drill segments that Irelia designed for them.  She always ended her guards training sessions with them doing free form training.

Now that she wasn’t actively demonstrating drills, or correcting her soldier's techniques, it became hard not to let her mind wander to Syndra.  She had been on her mind almost constantly for the last two weeks, since Irelia found her amongst a pile of rubble.  Syndra hadn’t said much, the little she had said was enough for Irelia to get an idea of what had happened, but not enough to make any progress.  The more she knew, the less she understood.

_If Zed did indeed take Syndra when she was a child, why did he do it?  Why befriend her years later?  Or maybe he didn’t know, but then that means he was hired.  Who would hire an assassin for a kidnapping?  Unless they were expecting bloodshed.  Could her parents have been powerful?  Or maybe she came from a large family or an estate?  No wait, from what Syndra described she came from a small family in a tiny village…  GAH!_  Again Irelia found herself no closer to the truth than when she started.  She needed more information.

Irelia decided to focus on the present for now, her guards were standing at their ready position in front of her.  This was odd to say the least as.

“Is something the matter?”  Irelia called out.

Koto, her most seasoned guard stepped forward.  He was a tall, muscular, bronze skinned man; with piercing emerald eyes, very short black hair, and scars running up his arms. A single scar adorned his left cheek.  They had fought together at the Placidium during the Ionian-Noxus war.  Him joining the guard after she took up the mantle as Captain put her at ease during that uncertain time.

He was the one who had taught her forgiveness after the war, during a time when she felt nothing but anger.  The loss of her family being at the forefront.  If not for him she never would have been able to become friends with Riven.  Irelia shuddered at the thought of how she would have treated Riven if not for his guidance.  She made a mental note to thank him again for that later.

Koto’s deep voice boomed through the training arena: “Captain!  Your guard have a request of you!”  If the room wasn’t quiet before, the echo of Koto’s voice made sure it was now.

Irelia straightened her posture, keeping the same hardened expression she always wore when training her guards.  She took a moment to glance over all the soldiers before her, letting her eyes land on Koto last.  “What would that be?”

“Captain!”  A female voice called out from her left.  Irelia snapped her attention to see it was Himawari.  She had been workig under Irelia for about a year now.  She guessed that Himawari was probably her youngest soldier.  This was evident in her youthful appearance.  Her skin was lightly tanned with deep purple hair, and soft blue eyes.  To her credit though, Himawari could more than held her own.  If Irelia remembered correctly, she had an extensive martial arts background.  “We think you are due a vacation, Ma’am!”

“Why would I do that?”

Kiba chuckled and stepped to the front so Irelia would have a clear view of him.  His hair was slicked back to avoid hiding his hazel eyes.  He was pale due to a lack of sunlight, as he preferred late night shifts.  “Because you haven’t taken a vacation since you got the job.  Don’t say you haven’t because Koto and I remember.”  Kiba tapped his head as he finished his statement.  “And leaving to track down some Noxian and Zaunite bandits doesn’t count as a vacation either.  Oh, and don’t think we haven’t noticed you taking paperwork home, or staying late just so you can go patrol during the day.”

Irelia sighed internally, Kiba always did have a habit of talking a lot, and he was only as formal as he felt the occasion required.  Something that somehow helped him out in the field more than it hindered him.

Irelia took a moment to look at every single one of her guards faces again.  Every single one of her guards wore the same determined expression.

“You’re only young once Captain, don’t waste it all here.”  Kiba kept his eyes on Irelia but made a wide motion to the center of the training area.  “Go out and live a little, go on a date or something.  We can survive without you for a little while.”  Kiba moved over and patted Koto on the shoulder, “Besides Koto can lead the drills in your absence.”

A minute of tension passed as Irelia thought it over.  She had to admit that her lack of sleep lately was starting to take a toll on her body.  If she didn’t already, she would probably have bags under her eyes soon if she continued.

“Fine.”  Irelia conceded, “How long?”

Kiba tapped his chin as if he was thinking.  Irelia knew better, he probably already rehearsed this conversation several times already.

“Five weeks.”

“No.  One.”  Irelia shot back.

“Four.”

“Three.”

“Deal.”

“I trust that upon my return I will hear that Snowdown went by without any complications?”  Even though Irelia was talking to all her guards, she focused her attention on Kiba.  Mostly since she suspected he did most of the planning for this.

Kiba waved his hand dismissively, “Don’t worry, we got this.  Jun’s already taking care of the paper work, and Koto already double checked our shift rotations to make sure we’re covered.”

“Good.”

Kiba leaned forward towards Irelia, and put his hand up as if he was whispering.  Though it was on the wrong side to stop anyone from hearing, and his not so quiet volume reflected that, “Also you’re probably already aware of this, but you’ve been pretty angry lately.”

Irelia looked around at the rest of her guards, and grunted out an annoyed “Dismissed.”  After a moment she added, “Except for you, Kiba.”

With that, all of her guards filled out of the training room. Irelia could over hear comments about Kiba’s probable demise.  She waited until most of her guards had funneled out before addressing him.

“I should put you on cleaning duty for the rest of the year for making a comment like that.”

Kiba shrugged his shoulders, “You know I wouldn’t say it if it wasn’t true.  Seriously though, what’s been up with that?  It’s not like you to be so angry.”

“I’ve had my reasons.”

“Oooh. mysterious.  So did we ever figure out who put those holes in the hospital?”

“Yes.”

“Yes?  That’s it?  C’mon what happened?  Are you mad because they got away or something?”

“No.  It’s... complicated.”

Kiba moved in front of her and put his hand on her forehead, “Do you have a fever or something?”  Irelia quickly batted his hand away, and gave him an annoyed look.  “What’s complicated about it?  They commit the crime, we arrest them, they go to trial, and then jail.”

“She’s …. my roommate, and I’d rather not arrest her.  Besides her punishment has already been taken care of.” Irelia continued, muttering “Not that we could physically hold her either.”

“You have a roommate!?!?  Is she hot?”  Kiba teased.

Irelia couldn’t stop herself from thinking about Syndra. She had never thought about if she was ‘hot’.  She figured that she probably would be classified as ‘hot’ with her clear purple eyes that seemed so easy to get lost in.  Or her long white hair, soft lips, slender figure that she loves showing off, her voluptuous breasts, tight butt, and…..Irelia had to force herself to shift her thinking to something else.  Her thoughts going there was a bit, unexpected.  “She’s too young for you.”  Irelia snapped off quickly.

Kiba chuckled, “Probably, I do like-wait a second.”  he adjusted himself so he could get a good look at Irelia’s face, “Captain Lito, are you blushing!?  I don’t think I’ve ever seen you blush before.”

“I wasn’t blushing.  It’s the cold.”

“Sure it is.” Kiba made a quick glance around to ensure they were alone, “So, is she your girlfriend?!?”

“No, maybe, I don’t know…”  Irelia muttered.

“Holy shit, really?  I didn’t see that coming.”  Kiba mumbled, “Wait, what do you mean you don’t know?  Unless you’re in an open relationship, you’re either together or you’re not.”

“It’s complicated, and something I would rather not go over with one of my subordinates.”

Koto’s voice boomed through the room, “Kiba, you’re shifts starting soon.”

“I’ll be there in a minute!”  Kiba shouted back.

“Now!”  Koto’s voice echoed.

“Got it, mom!”  Kiba redirected his attention to Irelia, “Don’t forget!  I need your advice on picking out a Snowdown gift for my wife.  I’m thinking something sexy this year, preferably in red.”

“I’ll keep an eye out.”

With that Kiba ran out of the room, and as he did a chill ran up her spine.  The air around her dropped a few degrees and the hair on her skin prickled as she felt a familiar presence behind her.

“You have an….interesting relationship with your guards.”  A deep voice stated behind her.

Irelia didn’t bother to turn around to look at what she knew was a shadow in the darkness behind her, instead she relaxed a bit but stayed at attention.  “Only the veterans.”

“If he was one of my ninja’s I wouldn’t have tolerated that tactless remark of his.  Especially in front of your other subordinates.”

“That’s because our leadership styles differ.  I like having a few candid subordinates.  He may seem disrespectful sometimes, but he means well.”

Zed’s response was a little delayed, “I must apologize, but I expected you to be angry at me.”

“I am.  However, I’m also sick of being angry.”

“Then I can assume Syndra told you about what I did?”

Irelia grimaced.  “Yes.  She disappeared for three days, and then barely talked to Riven and I for another two before she did.”  Irelia sighed, “I appreciate that you came and got me, but next time a bit of forewarning would of been appreciated.”

“Noted.”

Zed’s lack of response annoyed her, “Any other surprises you’re aware of that I should know about?”

“Only that something happened to change her while she was at that temple.”

“Beyond waking up alone after being taken from her parents in the middle of the night?”

Irelia had to stifle a shudder as Zed placed a shadowy hand on her shoulder, “Let me remind you, in case you’re unaware, but I was hired by a member of your ‘elder council’.  Your so called government is equally responsible for this as I am.”  With that the chill disappeared, and Irelia was left by herself once again.  She cursed at herself for not trying to get more answered from Zed.

 

* * *

 

Syndra sat in her bed, wrapped in a black blanket Irelia had provided for her, watching the first snowfall of winter blanket the city.  She was wearing fuzzy dark purple pajama pants, a white sweater with a poro on it, who’s collar was so loose that it kept falling off her should, that Irelia had found for her.  It didn’t bother her though, Syndra never liked clothing that was restricting.  This made Syndra dislike the cold.  She did, however, love snow.  There was something about watching it fall and slowly pile up that put her at peace, and made it easier to think.  It was a bit of a double-edged sword during the times when she couldn’t focus her thoughts on something pleasant, like now for instance.

For better or worse, a knock at the entrance way brought her back to reality.  When she turned her attention to the doorway, Irelia was standing in the entranceway with two steaming hot mugs.

“How are you feeling?”  Irelia sat down on the bed behind Syndra with her legs crossed and offered her one of the mugs.

After accepting the mug, Syndra adjusted herself so she was sitting opposite Irelia.  After some adjusting she managed to sit in a way that didn’t cause her to lose the blanket whenever she moved her arms.  Syndra took a sip out of the mug, “It’s sweet.”

Irelia looked a bit confused at her comment, “Of course it is, haven’t you ever had hot cocoa before?  Surely you would have tried it with all the time you’ve spent with Zed?”  Irelia winced as she finished speaking Zed’s name, “Sorry.”

Syndra shook her head, “It’s fine.  Part of me doesn’t want to forgive him.  If not for him I wouldn’t be...”  Syndra took her left hand off the mug and put it out in front of her and formed a tiny dark sphere in her hand for a few seconds, before clenching her hand and dissipating it.  “Things would be very different.  But you, Riven, Zed, and Lee are the only family I still have left, and I don’t want to lose anyone else.  Deep down I think I still cling to a hope that I will be able to find them and we will be able to be a family again.”  Syndra chuckled to herself, “That’s stupid isn’t it?  I mean it’s been, what, 10 years now?  I don’t know if I would recognize them…”

Syndra was caught off guard when she felt someone gently squeeze her hand.  She didn’t notice when, but at some point Irelia had reached her hand out and grabbed Syndra’s free hand.

“It’s not stupid, don’t worry.  If you wanted, I could take you to the archives, and we can see if we can find some records on you.  There could possibly be a lead on who your parents were.”

Syndra gave Irelia’s hand a gentle squeeze back, “I would appreciate that.”

Irelia finished her hot coca and put her mug on the nightstand next to Syndra’s bed,  “I don’t mean to change the subject, but Akali, and Kennen are supposed to be going Snowdown shopping later this week.  Akali was wondering if we were interested in joining them?”

As Irelia was readjusting herself on the bed, Syndra took the opportunity to move herself as well.  Right into a position where she could lay her head on Irelia’s shoulder and close her eyes.  “Sure.”  Syndra laid there a couple minutes, enjoying the moment, before she realized something.  “Don’t you have to work?”

“Not anymore.”  Over the next couple minutes Irelia explained to Syndra how her guards had worked with Jun to orchestrate her ‘taking’ the next three weeks off.

“Whatever shall you do with all this free time?”  Syndra teased.  She was expecting that Irelia wouldn’t quite know what to do with herself.  She wasn’t sure if Irelia would admit it, but Syndra noticed that she could get a bit obsessed with work.  Sometimes she would return later than she intended to, and often times she would bring paperwork home and stay up till late into the evening working.  To her credit though, she never isolated herself for work, and she did always make time to spend with Syndra and Riven.  Though knowing this made it at least partially clear to Syndra why Irelia seemed so clueless in love.  She wouldn’t be surprised if Irelia hadn’t ever been on more than a handful of dates, which Syndra was fine with.  She never was good at sharing.

“Well,”  Syndra could feel Irelia had gotten slightly stiffer, and her tone seemed a bit more anxious now.  “I was thinking that maybe on Snowdown...”  Now Syndra was curious as Irelia was acting a bit odd, upon getting up from resting her head on Irelia’s shoulder, she noticed that Irelia’s cheeks were a bit pink now.  “You and I could go out and have a nice dinner together?”

It took Syndra a moment to process what Irelia had said.  When it finally hit her a moment later, her eyes went wide in shock, “Wait.  You mean just the two us?  Like a date?  A romantic one?”

Irelia shyly nodded her head in response, Syndra responded “Yes!” and exploded forward a moment later and tackled Irelia to the bed, hugging her as they fell.  Syndra nuzzled her head into an area between Irelia’s collarbone and breast, which to her delight was more comfortable than she imagined it would be.  “So that means we’re officially a couple, right?”

“I want us to be.”

Syndra gave Irelia a gentle squeeze with her arms, then pulled herself back so she could get a good look at Irelia.  She couldn’t help but smile as she stared into her eyes, taking a few glances down at her lips, her heart beating a mile a minute.  After a short time she built up the courage to move her face closer to Irelia’s. When she didn’t move away, Syndra leaned closer for a kiss.  As she pulled back and began opening her eyes to see Irelia’s reaction, and thinking about how nice and soft Irelia’s lips were, her lips were already locked again.

_I could get used to this._

A few moments later a voice came from the door to Syndra’s right, “Do you--- nevermind.”  When Syndra opened her eye Riven was already long gone.

 

* * *

 

Syndra floated gleefully down the road, next to Irelia and Riven.  They were on their way to meet up with Akali and Kennen.  Irelia had met up with them and a week and a half ago, to talk about stuff.  Irelia had told her what it was, but Syndra had already forgotten.

“What exactly is it we are doing again?”  Riven asked as she zipped up her jacket.

“What was that about you not getting cold?”  Irelia quipped,”And we are going Snowdown shopping.  Akali hasn't done hers yet either, and apparently Shen is a nightmare to shop with.  So she asked me if we wanted to join her.”

Syndra and Riven looked past Irelia at each other for a moment before they both agreed: “Yeah.  I can see that.”

“But what's the purpose of the shopping?”  Riven asked.

Irelia looked Riven curiously, “Have you never bought for friends or family on Snowdown?  Do Noxians not celebrate it?”

“We have Snowdown yeah, but I think it’s a bit different there.  We teach children to train to become strong throughout the year. If they do, Santa Braum will come and reward them with presents.  If they are lazy, they will get nothing but sweets from Santa Gragas, and then they will get fat, become a burden on society, and probably die alone.”

Irelia and Syndra looked at Riven wide eyed, “That seems a bit extreme, even for Noxus.”

“So I’m assuming that Santa Gragas is probably fat, but what does Santa Braum look like?”

“He’s what every Noxian man strives to be:  Abs of steel, large biceps, toned calves, massive pecs, and  his glorious Man Muscle.”  Riven explained while sounding a bit like she was describing a daydream.

**“** What’s the difference between all of those muscles and the Man Muscle? **”** asked Irelia, puzzled.

**“** Uhhh...next question **.”**

“Ew.  Sounds gross.”  Syndra complained.

**“** That wasn’t a question. But, don’t you guys have Santa?  I figured that Syndra would love him.” Riven continued, changing the subject.

“I mean, I’m not going to deny free stuff, but why?” Syndra quipped.

“He drives a sled pulled by poros.” Riven drawled.

Syndra gasped and started pawing at Irelia’s shoulder while looking at Riven for any hint of deceit.  When she didn’t find any she turned to Irelia, “I must meet him, where does this magnificent man live!”

“In the Freljord.  If you go now you may be able to get there before Snowdown.”

Syndra gasped, grabbed Irelia’s hand, and started to pull her away as Riven was left behind them, laughing.  Irelia was forced to start running in order to keep up with Syndra and not fall over.

Irelia shouted “Riven!”  as she was dragged away, after they rounded a corner she attempted to get words out that would stop Syndra, “Wait, shopping, buying dresses, date!”  Once they had rounded a corner into an alley, Syndra stopped.  Irelia used this moment to collect herself.

“Riven was messing with you about the Freljord.”  The cold dry air and the suddenness of having to run made it a bit difficult for Irelia to catch her breath.

“I know.  It would take us about...three weeks to get to the Freljord from here, assuming the ice didn’t prevent us from leaving.  That doesn’t even include trekking across Freljord.  Well, at least for you.  I can float.”

“Then why---”

Irelia was interrupted by Syndra kissing her on lips.  She could feel that Irelia was tense at first, but relaxed a bit after a moment before Syndra broke off the kiss.

“Mmm, your lips are soft even in the cold.”  Syndra purred as she stared into Irelia’s emerald eyes.  A few moments later Syndra frowned, “I can’t tell if your cheeks are red from blushing or the cold.  That’s no fun.”

“You didn’t have to drag me half a block into an alley if you wanted to kiss me…”  Irelia made a quick glance towards the alley entrance, before returning her attention to Syndra.

“My way’s more fun though!”  Syndra paused for a moment, then diverted her attention away from Irelia and rubbed her arm.  “Besides, you still don’t seem fully comfortable with kissing me.”  She then tried to put up a front of confidence, “So!  I figured if we keep kissing then you will get more comfortable.  It will take some time, but I think we will be able to get through the together.”

“Oh, however will you cope.”  Irelia responded in a tone that was a mixture of being flat and sarcastic.

“Also...I don’t know how other Ionians deal with public affection.  I saw a guard nearby that probably works for you, and I didn’t want things to get really awkward.  Nor do I know how normal Ionians deal with same-sex relationships.”

“Well, it’s going to be---”  Irelia started

“Oh, there you two are!”  Riven waved as she finally caught up to them and entered the alley.

“We’ll talk later,” Irelia then turned her attention to Riven, “Why must you encourage her?”

Riven grinned, “Ah, just think of it as a little payback.”

“Payback?  For what!?”  Irelia responded confused.

“For all the UST between you two I’ve had to put up with for the last few months..”

“UST?”

Riven glanced at Syndra then back to Irelia, “Just ask Syndra about it later.”

“Okay?  Well, then let’s go find Akali and Kennen.”

After a few more minutes of walking they arrived at the fountain in the middle of the market that Irelia and Akali had chosen as their meeting location.  Irelia introduced Syndra and Riven to Akali and Kennen.

Syndra didn’t pay much attention to Akali, though she did like her outfit.  It consisted of a white skirt, a teal sweater, and a dark blue overcoat.  She was too busy being distracted by Kennen, who she admittedly didn’t notice at first, standing next to her.  Syndra stood there motionless staring at him for a moment before lunging, picking him up, and hugging him.

“Oh my god, he’s so cute and fluffy!”

Kennen squirmed, but after a few moments he was able to get a foothold and push himself off Syndra’s chest.  He did a backflip and landed on the ground before running back over to Akali, this time being on the side of her away from Syndra.

“Have you never seen a yordle before?”

“Sorry,”  Irelia apologized while rubbing a disappointed Syndra’s back, “She likes small fuzzy creatures.  I don’t think she’s ever met a yordle before.”

Riven looked down at Kennen, “Are you going to be okay in the crowd?”

“I’m a proud member of the Kinkou Order, I think I can handle a measly crowd.”

“He’ll be fine, someone can carry him if it gets bad.”  Akali reassured.

“Dibs!” exclaimed Syndra.

Akali turned her attention to Syndra.  “Syndra, what’s your relationship to Zed?”

“You know Zed too!?”

“I did.  Please just answer the question.”  Akali asserted.

“Someone’s cranky, but if you must know he’s a friend.”

“Just a friend?”

“Yeah???”  Syndra took a moment to scoot shoulder to shoulder to Irelia, taking a moment to grab her hand, before whispering to Irelia “She’s acting kind of weird.”  Irelia gave her hand a quick squeeze before she let go and Syndra moved back to her spot.

After witnessing this quick display, Akali relaxed her posture.  A little red in the face, she cleared her throat, “I may have misunderstood the nature of your relationship with Zed, are you two...together?”

Syndra looked to Irelia, unsure how to respond, she wanted to gleefully shout yes. However, she never got an answer from Irelia on how Ionian society would perceive their relationship.  She didn’t want to say something that could make things difficult for Irelia, who was the one who ended up answering Akali.  “We are.  I trust as someone who knows Syndra’s title and my job that you can two can keep this a secret?”

Akali shrugged her shoulders, “As long as your loyalty remains to Ionia and the government, we have no problem with your relationship.”  She turned her attention down towards Kennen, “Right, Kennen?”

“If I say yes then can we finally go get the stuff I came to buy?”  

Akali rolled her eyes at Kennen, “Just a few more minutes.”

“Don’t worry that won’t be an issue.”

Hearing Irelia acknowledge them as a couple made her feel warm and fuzzy on the inside, though the latter part of her statement gave her mixed vibes.  She made a mental note to ask Irelia about it when they talked later at home.  For now Akali’s question was one she could get an answer for.

“What did you mean about the nature of my relationship with Zed?”

“I thought that you two may have been dating.”

Even the idea of Syndra and Zed dating caused her to shutter, “Ew.  No way, nuh uh, never.”

When Syndra didn’t otherwise respond, and Akali just seemed confused at her response, Riven decided to fill her in.  “Syndra and Zed’s relationship is more of one that a dysfunctional family would have.  Though why does it matter to you?”

“Just curious.”  Akali immediately responded.

“Zed and Akali used to date.”  Kennen chimed in.

“Kennen!”

“You know I hate waiting.”  Kennen tapped his foot impatiently.

“Zed dated someone!”  Syndra yelled in disbelief, momentarily drawing the attention of the markets other occupants.

Akali shifted uncomfortably, “Dated is a...strong word.”

“That’s so weird...I can’t imagine him dating, anybody.”

“Can we finally move on to the reason we came here?  It’s getting cold…”

They spent the next couple hours jumping from store to store buying the various gifts they all needed to buy from Snowdown.  After some time Akali, Irelia, and Riven, with Syndra’s help on the type of gift she should buy, were able to finish up their shopping.  Syndra was able to find something for Riven, but she was stumped on what to get Irelia.  It wasn’t that she was having problems finding something that Irelia would like, but they weren’t the type of things Syndra wanted to get her.

“Can we go to my store now?”  Kennen asked in a slightly annoyed tone.  To get his point across, Kennen looked up and down at Akali holding her presents.

“Alright.”  Akali let out a short sigh, “It’s probably for the best.”  She turned towards Syndra, Irelia, and Riven, “If you want, we can part ways from here.  Kennen’s store probably won’t be of any interest to you, and I would hate to drag you along to something you aren’t interested in.”

“Some new invention from piltover that came over a couple years ago called a video game.  Kennen’s been obsessed with them since he found them.  There’s some new game coming out he wants called ‘Arcade’.”

“Well we dragged him to a bunch of stores he didn’t like, right?  Seems fair that we go to the one store he wants to.”  Irelia looked towards Syndra, “Besides you still need to get another gift, right?”

“I like you.”  Kennen said as everyone followed him to their new destination.

“You’re fine with tagging along, right Riven?”  Irelia asked with a slightly guilty look on her face, “Sorry I didn’t ask if you wanted to come.”

Riven shrugged her shoulders, “It’s cool.  I’m actually a bit curious.  I think I did some work for a company from Piltover two years ago.”

Upon entering the store they were treated to shelf up shelf of tiny color coded cases.  All four corners of the store were a different color.  The northern side they entered from was green, eastern was blue, southern was dark gray, and the western was red.  Kennen immediately made his way past the checkout counter in the middle of the store, down to the southern side of the store, and began staring up.  Everyone made their way towards Kennen, past the clerk who was busy checking out customers.

“Can someone help him get what he needs?  My hands are a bit full at the moment.”  Akali lifted her bag filled arms up a bit to emphasize her point.

Syndra was about to try and pick him up and hug him again when Kennen held his hand up.

“No need to browse, I already know what I want.  That one.”  Kennen pointed at a case that was just above Syndra’s standing eye level, between Riven and Irelia.  Irelia reached straight out, grabbed the case, and looked at the front and back a moment.

“Oh hey, this person kind looks like you Riven.”

“Huh, really?”  Riven leaned over and looked at the case.

Syndra took the opportunity to move over, float up, and put her head on Irelia’s shoulder and lean in so their faces were touching, so she ‘could get a better look’ at the case.  Irelia was right, there was a picture of a green robot on the back of the box that was posed next to someone that looked a lot like Riven.  The hair color and clothes were different, but otherwise they looked like Riven.

“I guess that Piltover company made this?”  A moment passed by of silence after Riven’s comment, “They made me look hot!”

“What do you mean she looks like one of the characters?”  Kennen jumped, grabbing onto Irelia and Riven’s clothing, he pulled himself up onto Riven’s shoulder.  “There’s no way---”  Kennen stared at the case and back to Riven a few times, “How did you get to be in this game!”

Riven stopped to think for a moment, “Well, originally I was only supposed to say a few lines in some booth.  But the guy who interviewed me saw my sword, asked me some questions about it, and wanted to see how I wielded it.  Apparently it interested him because they offered me quite a bit more money to put on this black suit with some balls attached to it and swing my sword around.  After that they did some sketches of me and I haven’t heard from them since.”

“That’s awesome.”  Kennen stared wide eyed at Riven for another few seconds, then his face changed to one of boredom, “Alright, let’s pay for this and get out of here.”

As they made their way to the counter the clerk greeted them, “Hey!  Little ninja bro!  What’s up?  Here to pick up a copy of Arcade?”

As Kennen was paying, Irelia leaned in to ask Akali a question, “Does he really know Kennen’s a ninja?”

Akali shook her head, “He calls him that because Kennen used to climb the shelves to get the games he wanted.  His weight ended up pulling the shelf down though, so he’s not allowed to do that anymore.  Which is why I always get dragged along whenever he wants a game.”

“I’m surprised they didn’t kick him out.”

Akali sighed and looked at Irelia with a face of disappointment, “I wish, he spends A LOT of money here.”

The clerk handed Kennen a bag with the case inside, everyone made their way to the exit, and said goodbye to Akali and Kennen.  As Syndra, Irelia, and Riven were getting ready to leave a thought crossed Syndra’s mind for her gifts.  She pulled Irelia aside for a moment to gauge her reaction, who embarrassingly agreed.

“What’s up?”  Riven asked as they returned.

A little red in the face Irelia responds, “Syndra wants to go shopping for some dresses, and other items together for our date night next week.”

“Oohhhh, sounds sexy.  Is it a--”

“No, it’s not the thing in your second drawer.”  Syndra interrupted.

“What about--”

“Nor, that monstrosity in your third drawer.”

“Hmm...you could get--”

“It’s our FIRST DATE Riven!”

“Alright, alright.  Well I’ll leave you two to finish up your shopping then.”

With that Syndra and Irelia continued their shopping, as Riven left for home.

“Syndra.”

“Yes?”  Syndra took the opportunity to hug into Irelia’s arm, just because she could.

“What _is_ Riven keeping in those drawers?”


	28. Walking in a Winter Wonderland

**The latter half of this chapter is rather explicit, so yeah...enjoy!**

* * *

 

Irelia took a deep breath attempting to calm herself down as she stared in the mirror.

C’mon pull yourself together, I’ve been fine all day, why am I nervous now?

With each piece of her outfit that she put on, her anxiety increased. By this point the only thing left for her to put on was her gold and emerald hair clips. Iroh had gotten them for her a few years ago as a birthday present. As Irelia slid them into place one after another, she remembered how he teased her that they would be perfect for a date. Which was something that her late teenage self was less than appreciative of.

Somehow I imagine this wasn’t the type of date he imagined I would be on. Admittedly neither did she.

Irelia gave herself a once over to make sure that everything was in place. She had chosen a modest emerald dress that came down a little below her knees. A golden pattern was embroidered into the dress that flowed over the entire dress. It looked similar to two dragons twisting around something that looked similar to Irelia’s mantle of decorum. Once she was satisfied with her outfit she let out a sigh, I’m so not ready for this.

With her outfit complete, and having run out of ways to stall, she made her way downstairs. When she got downstairs she found Syndra floating in the air, flinging a bunch of tiny dark spheres at Riven? Who was hiding behind a pillow with a huge grin on her face. When Irelia got to the bottom of the stairs, Syndra stopped and both women turned their attention towards her.

Syndra stared at her for a moment, before purring out, “You look stunning”, a seductive look in her eyes.

Irelia couldn’t help but admire Syndra’s dress. It was her trademark purple, and as usual she wasn’t afraid of showing off her cleavage. The dress had a fairly deep cut, showing off most of her breasts. The dress would've been practically strapless if not for the sleeves at the outer edges of the dress covering part of her shoulders and a tiny bit of her arms. It hugged her perfectly, showing off her curves all the way down to the bottom of her dress, which stopped at the middle of her thigh. Overtop of her dress Syndra wore a thin black lace cover. The cover had a pattern of silver flowers through it. Irelia couldn’t imagine why Syndra never seemed to have wardrobe issues.

“Thank you. That was surprisingly tame for you.”

“I figured I would try something new. I can’t try to embarrass you all the time.”

“I give it an hour,” Riven commented as she walked over to pick up a medium size travel bag she had behind the couch.

Syndra turned following Riven with her gaze as she walked away, “Thanks for the vote of confidence…”

“Going somewhere?” Irelia questioned?

Riven effortlessly threw the bag over her shoulder, “Yep, I’ll be back sometime tomorrow afternoon. I just wanted to see your outfits before I left, they’re gorgeous by the way. I figured I would give you two some alone time tonight after your date.”

“You didn’t have to, but I appre---” Irelia couldn’t shake the feeling that Syndra was doing something behind her. Riven attempting to stifle laughter confirmed her suspicion, but when she turned around Syndra was looking at her innocently in front of the entryway. As Irelia turned back around and finished her sentence, Riven walked past her, patting her on the shoulder.

“It’s no problem. Also, one of you maaaay have left your door open with your lingerie and some nightwear scattered across the bed…” Riven teased, letting her words hang for a moment before walking out the door with a smirk on her face, “Have fun!”

Irelia turned fully around and looked at Syndra who just stared back at her blankly.

“What?” Syndra shrugged, “I’ve lived alone for the last several years. We know I’m bad at the whole privacy thing.”

Irelia playfully rolled her eyes, and then grabbed her jacket, “We’ll work on it.” A few moments went by after they both had prepared for the weather, “So, are we supposed to hold hands…?”

Syndra merely responded with a slight head tilt and a look of confusion.

“What?”

“Have you never been on a date before?”

There was a bit of a pause before Irelia admitted, “No…”

“Well, we can either hold hands, or…” Syndra floated over and took Irelia by her the arm and they started to make their way towards the restaurant Irelia had a reservation at.

“So, do you not go on many dates because you work so much?”

Irelia grimaced, I wish I could use that as an excuse, “Not entirely. It’s rare for me to be approached. By anyone. Ever.”

“Really!? But you’re so pretty!”

“Thanks.” Irelia half faked a smile, “Kiba tells me it’s because I’m intimidating.”

“Why would they be intimidated by you?” Syndra seemed genuinely confused. “I mean yeah you can be sometimes when you’re angry, though I usually bring that upon myself.”

Is it good or bad that she knows what she’s doing is wrong? Considering she does things anyway probably bad...

Syndra continued, "Even then you’re sexy in a dominatrix sort of way. I just want you to take me and…” Syndra trailed off as she looked up at Irelia’s face to see her shocked expression, “Whoops, that was supposed to stay in my head. But also, you’re so cute when you’re embarrassed! And you are easy to embarrass!”

“Well...no one else has been brave enough to try something like that. The majority of people see me as either the Captain of the Guard, or the daughter of the famous Master Lito, a means to increase someone’s family standing in society. Nothing more.” Irelia couldn’t help herself from getting a little worked up. She took a deep breath, realizing that she was starting to rant. Pull it together Irelia, now’s not the time.

Syndra floated herself back a bit so she was behind Irelia with her arms wrapped around her stomach, then she floated upwards a couple inches so she could whisper in Irelia’s ear, “Their loss is my gain.” Syndra purred seductively.

Once they got near the restaurant the crowds started to get thicker. It forced Syndra to walk instead of float as usual. There was so many people that that Syndra practically hugged Irelia's right side as they made their way through. This made it painstakingly obvious that Syndra had forgotten how to walk in heels as they slowly made their way.

“Stupid lady stilts!” Syndra grunted as she stumbled awkwardly down the street, only keeping her balance by holding onto Irelia, “Stupid rules, stupid non-magic zones.”

Irelia had to keep her attention divided between the path to the restaurant, making sure they didn’t bump into other people, and making sure Syndra didn’t fall. I’m surprised she’s doing as well as she is in heels. Even when Syndra was in heels, Irelia was still half a foot taller than her. So whenever she glanced over to make sure Syndra wasn’t going to fall, she also couldn’t help but see down the front of Syndra’s dress. She knew this would happen didn’t she. Irelia sighed internally, she does look beautiful though.

Irelia couldn’t help but giggle to herself as Syndra struggled, “You know you’re actually kind of cute like this.”

“I’d love to take that compliment, and give a proper response, if I wasn’t so focused on not twisting my ankle or fall----” Syndra yelped as Irelia felt her begin to fall.

Irelia caught Syndra, sweeping her off her feet, then moved them both off to the side out of the crowd. Unintentionally ending in an alcove.

“My hero.” Syndra wrapped her arms around Irelia’s neck as she put her down.

“People are giving us weird looks. For a little while now actually.”

Syndra smiled, “I know.” Syndra barely finished before leaning into Irelia and giving her a quick kiss. “And what makes you think that bothers me?”

“I’m not convinced that anything ever bothers you.”

“Thank you!”

Irelia sighed, “That one wasn’t supposed to be a compliment.”

The rest of their way to the restaurant was spent mostly making idle chatter and making sure that Syndra didn’t trip or twist her ankle. The restaurant was surprisingly, at least to Irelia, crowded. They were greeted by the host shortly after they entered, who was a short haired medium sized man dressed in black.

“Hello M’ladies, how may I help you tonight?” Irelia recognized him, he usually hosted when Irelia came here for lunch with Karma. “Ahhh Captain Lito, how nice to see you! I almost didn’t recognize you, you look lovely! We have your reservation for you and your...cousin? There must be a mistake because it’s for the private couples table? We have other tables available if you’d like to switch.”

“Thank you, but what do you mean my cousin?” Syndra started to look a bit embarrassed as Irelia glanced over at her. “Did you...use my last name on the reservation?”

“Yes...I needed a last name and yours was the only one I could think of. I was going to use Zeds, but I forgot what it was. I think it starts with a K?”

Irelia turned back to the host, “We will keep the couples reservation, we aren’t actually related.”

The host perked up in surprise, “Oh, wonderful! Will you need two more seats for your dates?”

There was a beat of silence before Irelia responded, “She is my date. It’s just the two of us.”

“My apologies!” The host frantically scrambled together two menu’s, called over one of his waitresses and whispered something to her, “Please escort this lovely couple to their table right away please!”

Their waitress, a tall dark skinned woman led them past the crowded tables towards the back where things got more spacious. They went through pair of pretty green noren with a golden dragon on it into a medium sized room with sunken table and comfy pillows for seats.

“Here you are ladies, ” Their waitress gestured towards the table. As they sat down she gave them their menu’s, “I’ll give you two a few minutes to look over the menu before coming back to take your order. May I get you something to drink in the meantime? Would you be interested in any alcohol?”

“I’ll have that black tea with the creme in, which province was it named after? Navori?” Syndra spoke rhetorically, “You want the same, right? I know you like jasmine tea but I don’t think you usually drink it this late.”

Irelia was silent for a moment, surprised, “Oh, yeah that’s actually perfect.”

“Very good.” Their waitress responded and left.

Syndra made a pouty face at her, “If you didn’t want it you didn’t have to accept it.”

“It’s fine, I wasn’t sure what to get. The few times someone else has ordered for me they’ve been way off. Usually ordering some fruity drink.” Irelia shuddered, “I can’t stand the taste of alcohol.”

Syndra dropped her pouty face in exchange for a curious smile. “I didn’t know that. I’m surprised, for some reason I thought that you would enjoy some sake after work.”

Irelia waved her hand dismissively, “No, not my thing. Do you drink?”

“I’ve only had it once. Zed had me try it in celebration of my birthday,” Syndra looked around sheepishly, “I….ugh….I may have run around naked throwing dark spheres at his ninja’s and put many holes in his temples walls….”

Irelia felt bad but she couldn’t help but laugh at Syndra. “I’m sorry, I almost want to see that. I’m curious why were you naked and why were you throwing dark spheres at his ninjas?”

Syndra perked up, “Dodgeball.”

“Dodgeball?”

“Yep! Drunk me really wanted to play, and thought it would be fun to play dodgeball with the ninjas since they could poof and disappear. Makes it harder to break them!”

Irelia sighed, “That raises more questions than it answers Syndra, can you at least answer why were you naked?”

Syndra shrugged, “I don’t know, after a few drinks my clothes just felt really hot and confining. So I took them off.”

“And you aren’t hot normally?”

“I can’t tell if you’re being literal or if you were just hitting on me.” Syndra stared blankly at Irelia for a moment, “It’s really weird.”

Irelia shrugged her shoulders. She could give Syndra the answer, but where would the fun in that be? After Syndra hitting on her for...well as long as they’d known each other. After all this time of having no idea how to even respond, it felt good to not be the confused one.

When Irelia didn’t answer Syndra began to smile, “Alright, two can play at that game. When I told you about my drunk shenanigans you said you wanted to see, which part did you want to see? Was it me naked? Because I would be happy to oblige.”

She could feel as Syndra slowly began tracing her foot up and down her leg. She was surprised at first, but strangely found she enjoyed it so she reciprocated the gesture. This just seemed to add to Syndra’s satisfaction. Before Irelia had a chance to respond their waitress brought them their drinks.

“Are you ready to order?”

Irelia glanced over at Syndra, who she knew hadn’t looked at the menu for more than five seconds. Syndra had perked up in surprised, “Yes, of course we are ready.”

“I’m ready, I’ll have some vegetable Yaki Soba.” She looked back over at Syndra, who it appeared was trying to speed read the menu. “Do you like Salmon?”

Syndra looked up from her menu, “Yes?”

“Great. She’ll have Salmon Teriyaki.” Irelia folded up her menu and held it out for the waitress.

The waitress took both of their menus, and before leaving commented, “I love how you two order for each other, it’s so cute!”

When the waitress was gone Syndra rested her head on her arms, “Thank you…”

“No problem. By the way I almost forgot because you distracted me, why didn’t you use your last name on the reservation?”

Syndra sheepishly smiled as she laid her chin on her arms, “I kind of forgot it a couple years ago.”father

“What do you mean you ‘forgot’? How do you forget your last name?” Granted Irelia was reminded of her last name several times a day between work and ‘fans’ of her father. Now that she thought about it, she didn’t think that she would be able to change her last name at this point in her career.

“I probably knew it when I was a little girl; but I never needed it when I was a teenager, so I forgot what it was.”

Irelia blinked a couple times staring at Syndra in disbelief. “I envy you so much…”

Syndra grinned as she took a sip of her tea, seemingly liking the idea. “I often forget that you’re famous.”

“Good.” Irelia took a moment to herself to appreciate Syndra’s words, “I never thought I’d meet someone like you.”

Syndra shrugged with a smile on her face, “I’m not surprised, there is no one else quite like me.”

Irelia sighed to herself, I’m not sure what I was expecting…

“Sorry couldn’t resist.”

“No, no it’s alright... I walked into that one.”

“I can’t say my reasoning was something deep sounding, but you put up with me and let me be myself.”  
Syndra always was honest, at least with Irelia. She appreciated that, especially when she had to deal with politics, something she had a love/hate relationship with. Though she was curious of why those things were important to her. Now wasn’t the time to inquire though. “Have you ever been to the festival?”

“A couple times with Zed. He doesn’t trust me coming by myself, too many people.”

Whether she liked it or not, she could see why. She tried to keep the festival a safe place, but sometimes people had arguments and fought. Going home late at night in the wrong places could be dangerous. It made sense to Irelia that Zed would want to make sure Syndra was safe.

Syndra continued, “So what about you? Do you get to actually go to the festival often?”

Irelia waved her hand dismissively, “This will be my first time in...probably twelve years. When I was a child I would go with my father. Ever since I was promoted to Captain I’ve worked every festival, which is fine because I probably would just stay home anyway.”

Syndra perked up in her seat, “You are making me feel special. What did you do with your dad at the festival?”

“Standard festival activities. We would get takoyaki, for some reason they always gave you an odd number. We would play a game to see who got the last one, and he would always let me win. Then we would move on to festival games. I loved stuffed animals so he would get me one every year. After that he would go see the lights hung up throughout the gardens, it was usually really crowded so father would put me on his shoulders and I would ‘sneakily’ braid his hair. I’m pretty sure he was aware and just let me do it. After that we would watch the fireworks. When they were finished father would carry me home because I would be too tired to walk the whole way home.” At some point Irelia had taken Syndra’s hands into her own, she gave them a squeeze as she continued to stare deep into Syndra’s eyes.

Irelia broke eye contact as she reminisced, “Thank you.”

Syndra cocked her head a bit to the side, “What for?”

“For letting me remember my father fondly. I haven’t been able to do that in a long time.” Irelia made a mental note to go visit Iroh soon. He was one of the few people she could talk to about her father.

“You’re welcome”

The rest of their dinner was spent mostly on small talk as they ate dinner and dessert. Once they were finished they made their way to the festival hand-in-hand. They started out with festival games as Syndra wanted to win something. It didn’t take long for Syndra to find, not a game, but a prize that she wanted.

Syndra gasped as she ogled a giant stuffed panda, “It’s so cute! I want it!”

“Don’t cheat.” Irelia whispered.

“Pfft, I would nev--” Syndra busted out laughing, “Sorry, couldn’t say that with a straight face. I’m winning that Panda. Don’t worry though, you won’t be able to tell.”

Irelia sighed as Syndra walked up and got three balls from the broad chested bearded man running the game. She wasn’t sure if she was bothered more by the fact that Syndra might cheat, or that she would probably wouldn’t know if she did.

“What do I need to do to win that?” Syndra pointed out the giant stuffed panda above her.

“That?” The man’s voice was gruff voice easily carried over the noise of the festival, “Knock over all three of these bottle towers three times.”

Three times! That seemed a bit much to Irelia, did her father have to deal with this when he won her stuffed animals?

“Without using magic.” The man continued, “We have hextech sensors that detect if you’re up to any funny business.”

Syndra tilted her head and Irelia caught her glancing about the stall, and then put on a half-hearted innocent act. “I would never cheat!” Then she lost it to a grin, “I’m really good at dodgeball though.”

Surely enough a minute later Syndra had knocked over all the bottles in rapid succession. To her surprise though she hadn’t set off the hextech alarms if they did indeed work.

“I’ll be damned, in heels too.” The man whistled, “We haven’t had someone do that in a while, you aren’t demacian are you?”

Syndra opened her eyes from cuddling the giant stuffed panda, “No, why?”

“Just wondering.”

As they began walking away Syndra surprisingly stopped as a little girl with black hair and emerald eyes stared at her stuffed panda. They exchanged glances for about thirty seconds before Irelia saw her turn away and curse, then she bent down and gave her the stuffed animal. The little girl's face lit up as she thanked Syndra, and ran away calling out for her parents with a stuffed panda that was probably half a foot taller than her.

“That was cute.” Irelia couldn’t help but smile at the sight. She took Syndra by the arm as stood back up, “Let’s go walk through the garden and then find a private place to watch the fireworks.”

Syndra yelped as Irelia dragged her along, “Lady stilts, I have lady stilts! Slow down!"  
Part way through Syndra became weightless behind her as she started to float, simultaneously setting off every vendor's hextech magic alarm on their way out in the process.

They spent an hour walking through the garden looking at all the blooming winter plants, snowdown decorations, lights, and bushes that were trimmed to look like animals. Irelia went out of her way to show Syndra the ones shaped like poros. Once they were finished they found a private area in the garden Irelia knew about to sit down while they waited for the fireworks. She took a moment to lay her head down on Syndra’s shoulder while they waited.

“What made you give the little girl the stuffed panda?”

Syndra turned her head away from Irelia, “I didn’t feel like carrying it for the rest of the night.”

“Couldn’t you just have floated it with your magic? That’s how you keep your fortress up right?”

“I figured it would also make you happy.”

“Aww, you were thinking of me?” Irelia didn’t believe that was the whole story, but it was good enough for now. Syndra did something nice, so that was progress. She leaned up and gave Syndra a kiss on the cheek, when she turned back to face Irelia again she gave her another, much deeper kiss. The follow up kisses were much lighter, as Syndra’s free hand traced its way up Irelia’s leg, to her hip, then her stomach where it stayed for a moment. Irelia took Syndra’s hand and guided it up to her chest, which made Syndra kiss her more passionately. Unfortunately due to her clothing it was hard to feel.

Irelia broke off their kiss, or at least tried to albeit unsuccessfully, the only thing she accomplished was slowing down their pace. “We are heading home after the fireworks right?”

“ Yes” Syndra responded between kisses.

“Good.” Irelia finished with one deep kiss, “I’m wearing too many layers for this.”

Syndra grinned, “You may be, but I’m not.” She reached out and grabbed Irelia’s hands, and began pulling Irelia’s hands up her stomach. Irelia’s heart began pounding faster and faster, as she reached the bottom of her breasts there was a loud but soft POP as the first of the fireworks went off. Syndra’s expression dropped, “Really...now they go off.”

“We can keep going if you want to…”

“No. It’s alright.” Syndra shifted and found a comfy spot to lay her head on Irelia’s shoulder, “I actually want to watch the fireworks.”

Irelia wasn’t sure if she was more surprised that Syndra turned her down, or how enthralled she was with the fireworks. Fireworks were neat, but lost their luster after you’ve seen them for so many years. Admittedly though it was a much bigger display than it had been in previous years, and she was surprised to see some roughly in the shapes of animals.

“I think someone must have visited Piltover recently.” Irelia commented to Syndra after a particularly big round of fireworks involving every color they had went off. Assuming that was the finale Irelia got up, to Syndra’s slight dismay. “We should head out before it gets too crowded.” They made their way out as quickly as they could, which wasn’t too fast as Syndra still wasn’t used to her heels.

“What did you mean by your Piltover comment?” Syndra had resumed her earlier position of wrapping her arms around Irelia’s.

Irelia glanced at Syndra, bewildered, “Have you never visited Piltover?”

“I’ve never been out of Ionia...”

“Oh right, sorry.” Irelia berated herself, she should’ve known Syndra probably had never left Ionia. “Well Piltover tends to go all out with their fireworks, though I haven’t been in probably ten years. I’m not sure how they make the animal shapes, but I’m glad to see it Ionia now. It just makes me wonder what Piltover has come up with in recent years.”

“But do they have cute things?”

“They don’t have many animals, as it’s mostly one big city.”

Syndra responded immediately without hesitation. “Then I don’t care.”

“But they have a zoo!”

“Is that the concentrated place with all the fluffy animals!?--”

“Yep!”

“Where you can pet them during the day and take them out for rides at night!”

“Yep! Wait, what? You aren’t supposed to do the last part…”

“Oh...but it’s really fun! Though sometimes the big fuzzy one’s growl at you, but they’re so fluffy!”

Irelia stared down at Syndra, “What...what did you...actually I don’t think I want to know the answer.”

As expected, the closer they got back to Irelia’s house, the thinner the crowds got. By the time they were halfway there it was back to just being Irelia and Syndra, the latter of which spared no time getting back to floating again.

“It feels so good to fly again!” Syndra stretched herself while floating sideways next to Irelia. Once she was finished she rested her head in the palm of her left hand.

Syndra didn’t bother closing her coat, so Irelia could clearly make out the increasingly familiar view of Syndra’s cleavage. Now that she thought about it, she hadn’t realized how smooth Syndra’s chest was. Irelia could make out the faint outline of Syndra’s nipples against the fabric of her dress.

“Enjoying the view?”

Shit. She didn’t even realize that she had been gawking. The gigantic grin, the satisfaction in her eyes, the gratification in her voice, made it all the worse.

“I might have been.” Irelia was tempted to lie or deflect the conversation, but there was little point after getting caught ogling her breasts. “They just so happen to be lovely.” Admitting it out loud was weird, but also felt good.

Irelia’s comment caused Syndra’s grin to drop to a more surprised expression, that Irelia actually found kind of cute. It gave her a bit of an idea of why Syndra always tried to make her blush. Syndra recovered quickly though. While she had less of a grin now and more of a smile, her eyes were pure hunger and lust. Syndra righted herself and gently pushed Irelia, diverting her onto a nearby park bench. Irelia’s heart began racing as Syndra mounted herself on Irelia’s lap, propering herself up so that her breasts were inches away from Irelia’s face. She was surprised, worried, and slightly aroused all at the same time, the latter of which was the most surprising to her.

Syndra hummed to herself for a moment, “Lovely you say? Well there’s much more where that came from.”

“Syn-Syndra, this is kind of a bad spot! It’s a bit---”

“Open?” Syndra interrupted, chuckling lightly.

“Well yes, but--”

“But the possibility of being seen makes it that much more exciting.” Syndra interrupted again, simultaneously running her hands slowly down Irelia’s shoulders and arms. Sitting herself back, she silenced Irelia’s next attempt of protest with a few strong and passionate kisses. When Syndra’s hands reached down to Irelia’s she took them in her hands; starting at the bottom of her dress, the front of which was up by her hips now, slowly guiding them up her stomach, ribs, and then breaking off the kiss and rising back up to her original position as she stopped at the outer edges of her breasts under the veil. In full view of both of them, she used their hands to push the fabric aside and cupped Irelia’s hands around her breasts giving them a big squeeze. Irelia didn’t have the opportunity to appreciate it though as Syndra almost immediately pulled their hands away and covered herself up as she let out a deep breath.

“Cold.” Irelia finally finished, “I tried to tell you it’s cold.”

“I didn’t notice…”

“How did you not notice the cold??” Irelia felt Syndra slowly slipping, so she guided her hands down to Syndra’s hips, quickly glancing down to make sure she didn’t accidentally touch Syndra’s bare skin again. As she had felt earlier, due to the tightness of Syndra’s dress, it had slipped up around her hips. Irelia not having much experience wearing tight dresses figured she would find Syndra wearing shorts or at least some cute lingerie underneath. She was wrong. The low light made her imagination fill in some of the gaps, but she was pretty sure she was staring at the byproduct of Syndra’s one hour bath session last night.

“You aren’t wearing any underwear.” Irelia took a gulp, trying to regain her voice, “I honestly wasn’t expecting that.”

“Shaved just for you.” Syndra purred. “I hope you like it.”

Irelia merely nodded her head, not having a clue how to respond.

“As sexy as you staring is, you could see and we could do so much back at your house.” Syndra whispered. “Which I would recommend we do soon,” Syndra’s hand appeared in Irelia’s sight, reaching down and sliding her fingers under the hem of her dress, causing them to disappear for a moment, only to reappear a moment later. When she pulled her hand up to her face to investigate Irelia couldn’t help but see that her two fingers were lightly covered. “Because I’m really wet right now.”

As Syndra held her hand in front of Irelia, she suddenly became curious of what it tasted like. On pure impulse she took Syndra’s hand and lightly licked her fingers, three times. She frowned, “The taste is light, I can’t quite make it out...Or maybe unfamiliar? I would need more to make it out…”

Syndra’s mouth was agape, wide-eyed. It took her a moment to form her words, but when she did they were clear, “Home, now!” She practically jumped off the bench and started flying quickly through the street towards Irelia’s house, never letting go of her the whole time.

Upon arriving home Syndra practically threw Irelia against the door. Leaning into her, their breasts pressing against each, as she locked their lips together, one hand grabbing Irelia’s ass pulling them closer. The other fumbling trying to find the doorknob, but was met with a disappointing jingle. “It’s locked.” Syndra muttered, undeterred as she moved from Irelia’s lips to her neck, causing Irelia let out a soft moan. She closed her eyes, reveling in the moment. Each kiss making her want Syndra more than the last. She wanted to be out of these clothes, no not just that, she wanted to experience someone slowly stripping her out of them. She wanted to feel the sensation of Syndra’s naked bodies touching hers. The satisfaction of exploring her lover's body, and having her lover explore her body. The feeling of ecstasy that she imagined, and hoped, that came from a lover induced orgasm. No orgasms, because hell if she was going to stop at one.

Damn it, why is this door still closed? Irelia thought, snapping back to reality. As she reached into her coat pocket to take out her keys she realized Syndra had unbuttoned her jacket, as it was now hanging around her elbows.

“Wouldn’t it be amazing if we could do it in front of the fireplace?” Syndra muttered as she pulled back, letting Irelia attempt to unlock the door. Shortly after she turned around she was already being groped by Syndra, which was pleasurable but didn’t feel nearly as sexual as she imagined it would. She chalked it up to the padding in her dress being the cause.

“Do you really want to take the time to set that up?” Irelia found the first key she needed, and unlocked the deadbolt with a satisfying click.

“True, but I think your body would look great glistening by the light of the fire. The low orange glow on your breasts, stomach, and hips. Imagine the glow on my face as we look into each others eyes, while I slowly lick your clitoris. Bringing my tongue up and down, up and down.” Syndra began slowly nibbling on Irelia’s ear, who in turn slowly bit down on her lip imagining the scene unfold. This feeling was intensified as Syndra reached her hand through the slit in Irelia’s dress, down her shorts and began rubbing her inner thigh. Making sure that the top of her hand kept gently brushing against Irelia’s wet panties.

“C-could you use fingers too?” Irelia slightly arched herself back into Syndra as she asked.

“As many as you want.” Syndra whispered in her somehow still calm and seductive voice.

“Fine, but we should be quick. I don’t know how much longer I can wait.” As if answering her plea, she finally managed to find the key and threw the door open. Irelia expected Syndra to pull her hands out from her shorts, but ended up being a bit off the mark as she instead decided Irelia didn’t need them anymore and pulled them down to her ankles.

“You couldn’t have waited another three minutes?” Irelia asked looking down, she sighed, kicking her shoes indiscriminately, and doing the same with her shorts. “’ll get the firewood, you take care of the blankets.”

Syndra gave her a kiss on the cheek, “Sorry, couldn’t resist.” and continued on her way hanging a left towards her first floor closet.

Irelia hung a right, quickly walking past her training room and into storage room where she kept some spare firewood. Gathering up a few logs small logs she quickly headed back out towards the living room. Oddly enough Syndra had beaten her back and was already setting up the pillows and blankets for them, ontop of one of her spare mattresses? And there was already a small fire going? It was mostly coals at this point, but she didn’t remember there being a fire when they left. Whatever, she would question that later. Irelia opened the glass fireplace gate up, got on her knees and began gently rolling the logs in, making sure to adjust them with the fire poker.

“Oh my....” Syndra muttered behind her.

“What is it?”

“I didn’t know you were wearing cotton lingerie.”

“Yeah, why?” Irelia got up and looked at Syndra lying down on the blanket biting her lower lip eyeing her panties, tracing a tiny circle around one of her nipples. She looked down, not noticing much at first. Until she pulled her panties up a bit, and realized that she could clearly see her clit and lower lips through her soaked underwear. Irelia took a moment to process, and was very glad she had worn shorts under her dress. “How...how much could you see?”

“The world.”

She took a deep breath, “As long as you’re the only one that see’s it’s fine,” Irelia looked down at her hands, they were spotted black from the poker. Damn it. “Let me wash my hands then we can start.”

The twenty paces it took Irelia to get to the kitchen, wash her hands, and come back never felt longer than they did now. Her heart was racing, anxiety was building up in her chest. The worries that she had ignored for the whole night were at the forefront of her mind now. What if Syndra doesn’t find my naked body attractive? How will Syndra react if I can’t properly pleasure her? Would she be mad, or would she give up and move on?

As she made it back to the living room she found Syndra’s dress on floor, and she was faced with something that was similar to something she swore she had seen before. Syndra stood in front of her, wearing the lingerie they had picked for her together a short time ago. The top started about two thirds of the way up her breasts, a few inches lower were indents where Syndra nipples were poking out against the thin fabric, the rest of the dress almost clinging to her figure as it came to an end at the top of her thighs. Leaving only the sight of a teasing V on Syndra’s hips. Irelia figured in her half naked state she would appear at least a bit vulnerable, instead she exuded more confidence than usual.

“You look gorgeous.”

“Thank you. Would you like to put your’s on? I can wait, though I make no promises I won’t stare.”

“I-” Irelia began rubbing her arm, trying to push past the knot forming in her throat, struggling to make eye contact. “was wondering instead of that.” She felt like her heart was going to leap from her chest at any moment, she couldn’t believe what she about to ask, but finally got the courage to make eye contact again. “Could you strip me instead?”

“I would love to.” Syndra walked up, placing one hand on Irelia’s lower back, using the other to clear some strands of hair that fell into her face. “I don’t know if you do it intentionally, but some of the things you say drive me crazy. I don’t think you realize how sexy some of the things you say are.” Irelia didn’t have much time to figure out what that meant as Syndra pulled her close, their bodies right up against each other, into a gentle kiss. Both women’s hands making their way to the middle of each other’s backs. Irelia’s dress loosened as Syndra brought the zipper down to the bottom of her back. As she did this Syndra’s mouth made its way to her to her cheek, then lower to the side of her neck eliciting a soft moan from Irelia, lower still to her collarbone as she slowly pulled her dress down. Irelia’s drug her hands slowly down Syndra’s back as she moved down her body. Syndra’s lips and Irelia’s dress both dropped further to the top of her breast. Her lips moved lower, Irelia arched her back hoping she would find Syndra’s mouth. The throbbing sensation in her nether region was driving her crazy, and it was only made worse as she stopped right above her areola. Irelia really wanted to be out of this top, for Syndra to move her lips just a little bit lower, to know what it felt like to have her lovers tongue dance around her nipples, she wanted to know the pleasure of having them sucked on. But then to her dismay Syndra pulled her lips away.

“Why’d you stop?” Irelia pouted, they had practically only just begun and she was already surprised at how slow Syndra was going.

“In a moment.” Syndra gave her a momentary glance before redirecting her attention to Irelia’s chest as she felt her dress fall below her breasts, hold for a moment, and then drop the floor leaving her standing in only her panties. “I just want to take a moment to enjoy the view.” As Syndra spoke she brought her hands up and cupped them around Irelia’s breasts. She spent some time groping them, before she pushed Irelia back down onto the blankets behind them in front of the fire.

Syndra mounted herself right on top of Irelia’s hips, as she laid there sprawled out in the blankets. She tried to hide it by not overly covering herself up, but she felt more than a bit vulnerable lying there almost entirely naked. Irelia tried to relax a bit as Syndra reached and began groping her again, lightly rubbing her nipples, causing them to stand up.

“I love them.”

“Even though they’re small?” Irelia let out a soft moan as Syndra began rubbing her nipples between her fingers. After doing this for a few seconds she leaned forward, took one of Irelia’s nipples between her lips, and sucked gently for a few seconds. Once she was finished she would dance her tongue up, down, and around it for a little bit before moving over and repeating it on her other breast. Irelia moved her hand to the back of Syndra’s head, spreading her fingers into her hair. The throbbing that she felt down below started to evolve into an aching feeling as her nipples were squeezed and sucked on repeatedly. There was this ever building feeling that she wanted something inside of her.

She was about to say something to Syndra when she repeated a familiar kissing pattern as she moved herself off to the side of Irelia. She started at the center of Irelia’s chest, she got hopeful that things would be quicker this time when Syndra skipped all the way from her chest to her stomach, all the way down to her hips and brought her fingers around Irelia’s last piece of clothing. She put her legs up in the air as her lover pulled them off, voluntarily spreading her legs to reveal her bare nether regions. The aching for attention and need to have something inside of her was winning against her shyness. Syndra sat there staring for a moment biting her lip, Irelia watched as her eyes slowly went up and down her body. Syndra went down and kissed her between her leg and her hip, then between her leg and lips, as if she hadn’t been teased enough right above her clit, and finally right on her clit. Irelia looked down into her eyes as Syndra paused a moment as she made eye contact, smiled, and slowly brought her tongue up and down Irelia’s clit.

“Ohhhhh….” Irelia moaned as she arched back, spreading her fingers through Syndra’s hair. She felt a burst of pleasure every time Syndra brought her tongue up. Irelia pulled Syndra’s head forward slightly. She was intending to increase the pressure Syndra’s tongue was putting on her, but instead Syndra sucked her clit into her mouth and began rubbing her tongue all around it. The feeling was a mixture of pleasure and pain, but she didn’t want Syndra to stop. Damn did she not want her to stop, but even through the pleasure the aching feeling in her nether region was only getting worse.

“Fingers….Can you use fingers?” Irelia managed between breaths, “I NEED something inside me.”

Syndra peaked up from between Irelia’s legs, wiping her mouth with one hand. “You need it? Is that so, what ever shall I do?” She used that same hand to trace a circle from the bottom of Irelia’s pussy all the way up to her clit and back down again. Irelia tried to push her hips forward a bit to get some penetration, but didn’t have any luck as Syndra always kept her fingers only in deep enough so that Irelia’s lips would follow her fingers as they went up and down.

“Why must you make me wait?” Irelia commented as Syndra repeated this a few times. She hoped that Syndra was just trying to get her fingers wet before going inside of her, rather than just teasing her. As she continued though Irelia figured it was the latter, which probably shouldn’t have surprised Irelia.

“Because I’m having fun, taking in your body, and enjoying seeing your reactions.”

“I can’t wait,” Irelia let out an involuntary moan mid-sentence as Syndra’s thumb began tracing circles around her clit, “Till it’s my turn to pleasure you.” she panted, failing at sounding threatening. Irelia questioned why she thought she would be able to sound threatening when Syndra was rubbing her, and she was probably halfway to getting off.

Syndra hummed, “Me too.” Then she went back down onto Irelia, and she felt one of Syndra’s fingers slide inside of her as she did. Irelia reached her arms out and took the covers in her hands as she felt her pussy wrap itself tightly around Syndra’s finger. More so than she thought, given that Syndra was fairly petite and her hands were fairly small.

Syndra started off going slow, instead focusing more on deepness than speed, but picked up her pace as Irelia began rocking her hips. She closed her eyes as she focused on getting a rhythm, and the pleasurable sensations that shot up her spine every time Syndra hit deep inside of her; which might as well have been every time at this point.

“Can you....fuuuucckkkk…..add….another….?” Irelia managed between moans as she started slowly massaging her breasts. The pleasure was barely even recognizable compared to what Syndra was doing.

Syndra stopped for a moment outside of her as she came up, and continued going in and out of her slowly for a short time as she used her thumb to rub Irelia’s clit up and down. Then as Syndra went inside of her again she felt things get a lot tighter. Thankfully she was going slow, because the feeling was an odd mixture of discomfort and pleasure. Irelia slowly began bringing her hips up and down again as she got ever so closer to that feeling of release she was chasing after.

“Slow down you’re still tight, you’ll be sore tomorrow if you go too fast.” Syndra chastised as she put her free hand on Irelia’s hips to stop her from going up and down.

“But I’m getting close…”

“You are?” Syndra smirked, “Well we can’t have you sore for tomorrow morning, but I think I can do something to sate you for now.” With that Irelia felt Syndra arc her fingers upwards inside of her, causing her to arch her back up and return her hands to the blankets as the pleasure built up inside of her. Syndra picked up her pace as Irelia let out tiny moans and curses, continuing the upward motion as she went inside her; Until finally Irelia felt herself get very wet, and let out a loud moan as the release came. Her upper body went up for a moment involuntarily as Syndra pulled her fingers out and a wave of pleasure shot up her spine, causing her to moan slightly.

“I could get used to that sound.” Syndra purred as she traced her hand up to Irelia’s abs. “And this view.”

“I could get used to feeling this good.” Irelia closed her eyes to rest as she waited for the pleasure and sensitivity to subside.

“Don’t fall asleep on me, I haven’t had my turn yet.”

“Just give me some time.” Irelia replied after a short span of time went by.

Another short time span went by before Syndra spoke up, “You look gorgeous.” Irelia half opened her eyes. She didn’t know if it was intentional, but Syndra’s expression had softened from playful into one of endearment. Her heart skipped a beat when she saw it, she loved how genuine it looked, it made her feel special. “Everything from your perfect green eyes, your soft lips, breasts that fit perfectly in my hand, the abs I find sexier than I thought I would, and now this.” Syndra reached her hand out and traced her down from Irelia’s pelvis down to her inner thigh. “I can’t believe you shaved for me.”

Irelia closed her eyes to rest again, “You shaved didn’t you?”

“I know, but you didn’t have to. Thank you.”

Being appreciated for being herself felt nice. She got thanked a decently often at work, but it felt different coming from Syndra.

“Irelia?” Irelia could feel Syndra had moved on top of her now. “Irelia!?” Syndra was now shaking her shoulders now, probably thinking she fell asleep. “Don’t you fall asleep on me! I can’t go to sleep horney! I’ve---” Syndra’s words changed to a yelp as Irelia pinned her leg and rolled Syndra over. Irelia was now face to face with Syndra’s breasts. In all the time that had passed since Irelia had learned ground fighting, this was not how she imagined she would be using one of her techniques.

She mounted herself on top of Syndra’s stomach so she was a bit more comfortable, “Don’t worry, I won’t.” Irelia took a moment to just take in the view of Syndra’s breasts, before massaging them a minute later. So this is what breasts feel like. Syndra’s breasts were a bit bigger than Irelia’s hands, which wasn’t surprising, but that didn’t stop her from enjoying them.

“How are they?” Syndra traced her hands up and down the outside of Irelia’s hips.

“Soft. And big.” Irelia moved her fingers up and started rubbing Syndra’s nipples, which popped up fairly quickly.

“Glad to hear.” Syndra hummed as she brought her hands in and began teasing Irelia’s clit, causing her to involuntarily collapse slightly onto Syndra.

Irelia removed Syndra’s hand, readjusting herself back up into her original position of pinching and rubbing Syndra’s nipples. “Not right now, I’m still sensitive.”

“Sorry, but I’m having trouble keeping my hands off your beautiful body.”

Shortly after Syndra’s hands made their way up Irelia’s sides and this time to her breasts, which Irelia was completely fine until she started playing with her nipples. Irelia moved them away again. “Do you want your turn?”

“Ooooooh. I’m sorry my Captain.” Syndra teased as she brought her hands up in feigned surprise.

“Don’t call me that.” Irelia quickly chastised. It came off as harsher than she intended, but she wanted to get her point across. “Please.”

Irelia scooted back a little bit so she could bend over to try sucking on Syndra’s nipples, and surely enough, Syndra’s hands had made their way back down to teasing her pussy. Irelia quickly scooped up both of Syndra’s wrists into her one hand and pinned them above her head.

Threats didn’t work, not that they ever did with Syndra in hindsight, so Irelia decided to take a different approach. She lightly rubbed her nose against Syndra’s and spoke softly, “You’ll get these back when they can behave.” Before moving and repeating the kissing motion down Syndra’s body that she had done on Irelia earlier. Except she actually went down to her nipples, squeezing her breast with her free hand as she switched between sucking or dancing around them with her tongue.

Some handcuffs would be really nice right now. I should get a pair for occasions like this, oooh and they could be fuzzy! That settles it, next time I’m near Sorcerer Veaux’s shop I’m getting a pair.

Irelia brushed her hair out of her face for what felt like the 30th time, as she switched breasts and hands. Syndra didn’t try to escape Irelia’s grip, even though she easily could, she just pushed her chest out higher for Irelia.

“I could brush your hair out of your face if you freed my hands.” Irelia didn’t have to look at Syndra’s face to know what her smile most likely looked like. Irelia ignored her, but did loosen her grip on Syndra’s hands, as she was ready to move her attention down lower. At least she had intended to.

As she moved her body down lower her clit rubbed against Syndra’s pelvis, and it sent a pleasurable sensation up her spine. Irelia felt a similar sensation as she moved her hips back up.

“Mhmmm, that’s nice.” Syndra’s voice was soft, not hiding the slight bit of pleasure in her voice.

Irelia began repeating the motion bringing her hips up and down, rubbing her clit up against Syndra. She ended up keeping her mouth on Syndra’s breasts, dancing her tongue around her nipples as best she could while moaning softly. Irelia picked up the pace as the pleasure built up more and more, as Irelia got closer to release it became harder and harder to keep her moans of pleasure down.

“Hey, wait, are you getting yourself off on this! No fair! I haven’t had my turn yet!”

Irelia let out one final moan, collapsing on top of Syndra as the wave of pleasure shot up her spine. This time the orgasm was much softer, so she was able to get herself up a moment later.

“Will you behave?” Irelia scooted back so that her body was between Syndra’s legs.

Syndra pouted for a moment, but then smiled, “Aye, aye Captain!”

Irelia looked at Syndra with a blank expression, whose smile faded as she realized her mistake, in one quick motion Irelia flipped her over. Syndra yelped, a bit surprised by the maneuver, as she ended up face down in the blanket. Irelia grabbed her hips and pulled her rear end up in the air.

“Stay put.” Irelia demanded as she moved one of her hand towards Syndra’s lips, and immediately felt her juices on her fingers as she traced towards her outer lips. Irelia traced two of her fingers up and down Syndra’s lips, spreading them open, and putting the tips of her fingers inside her. Whenever Irelia reached the bottom, she would rub Syndra’s clit before making her way back up.

“That was sexy!”

She was focusing more on exploring Syndra’s body rather than pleasure, though judging by the subtle moans of pleasure Syndra didn’t seem to mind. Irelia had to give Syndra credit on her patience, if she hadn’t gotten off twice already she would be getting horny again just by staring at and rubbing Syndra’s pussy. She caught her tongue making it’s way across her lips in anticipation for when her curiosity was finally sated. As she was rubbing Syndra Irelia found herself thinking about what she could do to her, which caused her thoughts to wander to another curiosity. “So how much have you fantasized about this?”

Syndra chuckled, “Being in this position? Never. Overall? Well, let’s just say everything I did to you was very well rehearsed in my head.”

Figuring that she had made Syndra wait long enough, Irelia slowly slipped one of her fingers inside of Syndra. This time going all the way in, after doing this a couple times she switched fingers. A chill went up her spine as she remembered how good it felt to have Syndra inside of her. The full feeling she got inside of her wasn’t one she would forget anytime soon, especially when Syndra flexed her fingers up towards her stomach. She was eager to feel both sensations again. When Irelia added her second finger inside Syndra was expecting some sort of moan from her, however tensed up instead.

“Are you alright? Was that to fast?” Irelia pulled her fingers out of Syndra immediately, unintentionally putting them down on the blanket.

“It’s fine.” Syndra winced, “Sorry, penetration isn't really my thing. I’d prefer---” Syndra cut off in a deep moan as Irelia pulled Syndra’s hips to her face and began eating her out. She didn’t start off gingerly like she had originally planned to, instead she rapidly began bringing her tongue up and down Syndra’s clit, attempting to mirror what Syndra had done to her. Every once in awhile she would bring her tongue all the way up and down Syndra’s pussy. As she brought her tongue up and down, her chin would get wet as it rubbed against Syndra. That was nothing compared to her nose, which was covered in Syndra’s juices just from licking her. Irelia had figured between smelling Syndra’s unique….scent, and the taste that one would deter her, in reality it only increased Irelia’s desires.

“Oh...fuck!” Syndra moaned, another thing that Irelia was surprised to find she enjoyed, as she began rocking her hips in a rather quick rhythm. “You have no idea...how long I’ve waited...for this.” Syndra managed between moans, “Don’t…..Don’t stop! Whatever you do!”

Irelia switched to rubbing Syndra for a just a moment as she relaxed her cramping jaw, and saw that Syndra’s hands had moved from the blankets to her breasts. As she went back down onto Syndra, she wished she could reach Syndra’s breasts so she could go back to squeezing them. Or playing with Syndra’s nipples, she wasn’t going to be picky. Instead Irelia decided to squeeze Syndra’s ass as she ate her out instead.

As Syndra quickened her rhythm Irelia moved her hands back to her lover’s hips, pulling them closer and focusing on the rhythm. Most of the sounds Syndra was making at this point consisted of moans or curses. Syndra picked up the pace one last time for a short while letting out one last drawn out moan, then collapsing on the blankets. She rolled over onto her back, and Irelia watched as she chest went up and down with deep breaths. Syndra curled up a little bit a few times, Irelia could almost see the waves of pleasure that shoot up her spine just from Syndra’s body language.

Irelia laid herself down next to Syndra, pulling a blanket over them. She tried curl up next to her to cuddle; but her lover pinned her to the blankets and gave her a deep, long kiss, with a little tongue. As they kissed, Irelia wasn’t sure if she tasting more of Syndra or herself. When Syndra pulled her lips away she smiled at Irelia for a moment, then collapsed partially on top of her.

Syndra attempted to speak, but her words were muffled by Irelia’s skin the first time she spoke. It wasn’t until she turned her head sideways that Irelia could understand her, “We should do that again.” Syndra nuzzled up against her, exhaustion prevalent in her voice, finding a comfortable spot around Irelia’s collarbone. “just not right now.”

As Irelia was trying to find a comfortable play for her hands, settling them on Syndra’s waist and her own stomach, she noticed that her lover’s breathing had steadied. It didn’t take long for Irelia to join her in the sweet embrace of sleep.


End file.
